White Eye, Gentle Fist
by Nokito-chan
Summary: One afternoon changed their relationship irrevocably. Will Team Gai ever be the same again? NejiXTen Romance, Drama. Rated M, you have been warned. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This started off as one thing and ended up in a completely different place. I sort of got stuck and then I started working on Cage of Shadows, so this one is on the back-burner for now, but maybe getting reviews will help me get unstuck *hint hint*.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story.**_

_**White Eye, Gentle Fist**_

_**Chapter 1**_

They came out of nowhere, an impossibly big party. _They shouldn't be here._ There was fighting all around, but to her a deathly silence hung in the air. The clearing suddenly seemed impossibly small and dark. _No_, she screamed inwardly. She watched in disbelief as her companions were overpowered. _This is impossible_. She knew their strength, their speed, this couldn't be happening. As suddenly as it had all begun, it seemed to end. The remaining ninjas surrounded her, and for the first time in her life she was truly afraid. Close-range combat was not her style, but still, if death was looming she'd take a few of the enemy with her, she decided, grimly bracing her slim form for battle. She glanced quickly around, looking for a defensible position, but her eyes lighted on the inert form of one of her companions, blood flowing thickly from numerous wounds.

_Lee! _ Wildly, she looked around for her sensei, at last spotting his green-clad form at the far side of the clearing. He was badly injured but still seemed to be trying to fight, struggling to his feet. His lips were moving, agony in his eyes. _What is it sensei?_ She tried to hear him, but her senses were completely unresponsive. Sensei seemed almost … afraid. But that couldn't be. He was never afraid. His lips moved in another silent scream. This time she could make out that he was shouting her name.  
He _was_ afraid … for her?

In that instant, she realized that she had become overly dependent on her teammates and their  
close -range combat styles. It left her free to send her weapons into any battle with deadly accuracy … but from a distance …, she knew she had very little chance of defeating all of the men now surrounding her, closing in, grinning horribly. Shivers ran down her spine. The fear became more cloying …. _What are you afraid of?_ Not death surely. She'd been too caught up in the plight of her companions and realized too late that the enemy had circled around her. _Damn_, she thought. Fear froze her into position, as she realized that this time no help would be forthcoming.

_He _wasn't there, wouldn't attack, allowing her to gain enough distance to launch her weapons. She turned, readying her weapons, but before she'd so much as lifted her arm for the first shuriken throw, blackness descended. As she slowly spiraled into the encroaching darkness, she saw her sensei scream again, she felt hands on her body, rough hands grabbing her hair, sound returned and she felt their laughter. Her last conscious thought was for _him_. Before the she finally succumbed to the release of unconsciousness, sound returned and she heard sensei screaming her name. _I'm sorry I wasn't stronger …._

***

Neji walked slowly through the Hyuuga compound, allowing the confusion of daily activities to wash over his tired senses, completely oblivious to the sensation he was causing. Curious eyes followed the tall, dark-haired man as he slowly made his way down the street. He couldn't remember ever feeling this tired. Back-to-back missions had drained every last bit of his energy. But before he went home for the longest sleep of his life, he wanted to find his old team. He'd missed them. He frowned. No, that wasn't quite right, he didn't care enough about anyone or anything to miss them. But … lately his thoughts had strayed more and more often to the past. It wasn't the same, going on missions with strangers.

It irritated him to have to deal with people who didn't know him exactly. Who hadn't grown up with him, hadn't grown stronger with him. Actually, if he was totally honest with himself, he'd missed her.  
_Tenten_. He sighed. And now when he wanted to see the damn woman, a fact he still had trouble admitting to himself, she was nowhere to be found. He slowly made his way to the main gate. Perhaps they'd gone on a mission?

As he neared the entrance to the village, something tugged at his senses. Frowning, he examined the feeling. Almost … as if danger was lurking. He shook his head - he must be more tired than he'd thought. The two chuunin guards came into view and he felt the familiar irritation as they caught sight of him and immediately assumed respectful attitudes. _Really_, he thought irritation mounting by the second, _you'd think they'd be used to jounin freshly returned from missions._  
"Morning," he greeted them shortly. "Good morning, Neji-san" they chorused.  
"Have Gai-sensei, Tenten and Lee passed this way today?" he queried, aware he was being unnecessarily rude and not really caring. "No, Neji-san, they left two days ago on a mission," one of the guards answered uneasily. The other was not doing a good job of hiding his intimidation.  
This was exactly why he preferred his old team, they weren't intimidated or impressed by him anymore. _Familiarity breeds contempt after all,_ he thought wryly.  
"Thank you." As Neji turned, the niggling feeling of impending disaster was again uppermost on his mind._ Why? Why am I feeling like this? _ A flash of green at the very edge of his vision had him spinning around, and the two chuunin jumped back in shock. Without sparing them a glance, Neji walked forward slowly, focusing on the spot where he thought he'd seen movement. Slowly, a figure came into view in the distance, limping badly, almost crawling, really. _No, it can't be,_ Neji slowly shook his head. _A genjutsu?_ But as the figure drew closer, he realized it was no mistake.

"Gai-sensei" Neji breathed, as he saw that it really was his erstwhile teacher making his way, step by painful step, to the village gate. In a puff of smoke, Neji was gone, startling the two chuunin guards. Neji had reappeared almost instantly at the side of his former master. "Gai-sensei …" the uncertainty in his voice had him cringing inwardly. Damnit, he was never unsure! Gai raised his head and stared uncomprehendingly at Neji.

"Gai-sensei!" Neji said more forcefully. He knelt down next to the barely conscious man, taking in the full extent of his injuries. "Gai-sensei, can you stand? We have to get you to the hospital." Gai stared at Neji for a while before recognition dawned on his face.

"Neji …"  
"Come on, put your arm around my shoulder." As Neji lifted Gai he saw that the chuunin guards had finally realized that something was amiss. People were running toward them. He turned and helped Gai toward them slowly, in deference to the other's injuries. The group reached the two men and Neji recognized medical personnel with a sigh of relief. He gladly handed the older man over to their capable care. Gai finally seemed to realize that he'd made it home to Konoha and as the medical personnel surrounded him, he clutched frantically at Neji's sleeve.

"Neji …. Lee …. we … ambushed …. injured …. clearing … half … day away …." he gasped, sweat shining on his brow with the effort. Noting the urgency in Gai's tone, Neji waved a hand to stall the medical attendants.  
"Gai-sensei, is Lee still back there?" he asked calmly.  
"Yes …. that … way," Gai gasped in pain as he lifted an arm to indicate the direction. "Tenten … forgive me …. we tried … too many … too … strong" the expression in Gai's eyes filled Neji with dread.  
"Is she …" he couldn't get the word out.  
"Don't … know … they … took … I tried …to check … maybe … alive… " the sentence seemed to drain the last of Gai's strength and he sank to the ground in a dead faint.  
"Take care of him" Neji snapped at the astonished medical personnel. So that was the strange premonition he'd been feeling all day.

_Tenten_. Dead tired and out of chakra as he was, he immediately turned in the direction Gai had pointed. What had happened?  
"Neji-san, you cannot go, you need rest and … " the chuunin guard's voice trailed away when Neji's cold, pearly eyes met his. "Inform the Hokage," he ordered, not even bothering to acknowledge the man's statement.  
"Tell her to send medical-nin and reinforcements as soon as possible. I don't know what's waiting for me back there." Neji leaped onto the nearest branch, various scenarios still playing in his head. One thing was certain. Something terrible must have happened to his former teammates, he'd never seen Gai-sensei in such a state. _Tenten_. He sped up despite his exhaustion, energy coming out of seemingly nowhere. _This is very stupid, you're out of chakra, what are you going to be able to accomplish? _Sanity broke through the worry, but Neji sped up regardless. Nothing mattered to him at this moment except making sure she was safe.

He leaped from branch to branch with a speed that belied his tiredness, unfamiliar fear spreading through his body with each step. Horrors spun in front of his eyes. _Stop __damnit__! You're not helping anyone by letting your imagination run away with you! _ The time passed slowly, despite the speed at which he was travelling.

Much earlier than expected he began to detect signs of a battle.  
_Two hours away from Konoha, if that. So close,_ he calculated grimly. Gai's injuries had slowed him down; in his pain-fuddled state the distance had seemed much greater than it actually was. Still, that Gai-sensei had made it at all was a feat worth admiring.

As the signs of a battle became more pronounced, he slowed down, molding the little chakra he'd managed to drag from nowhere. _Clearing, dead ahead, _he thought grimly as it came into view. Moving carefully, he scanned his surroundings, but could not see any enemy chakra signatures. He moved into the clearing, abandoning stealth, there was no one here.  
As the entire space came into view, he saw Lee lying prostrate on the ground at the other end of the clearing. Gai had obviously tried to do what he could for his favourite student. Lee's head was cushioned on his pack and his limbs had been straightened. He was bleeding badly, unconscious, but at the moment there was nothing Neji could do for his friend. Moving him might do more harm than good. Lee would have to wait for the medical-nin. He bent over Lee, checking his pulse. Faint, but there.  
Neji sighed. "Hold on, Lee," he murmured softly.

He straightened up, checking his surroundings carefully again, but still no sign of her. _I swear if Gai left her lying in a clump of bushes to tend to Lee with his last strength, I will kill him, _he thought with an surge of savage anger. As quickly as the anger had come it disappeared, he knew that Gai would have done what he could for Tenten. _If Lee's in this state, I doubt Tenten would be able to reply even if I did call her name, _he concluded wearily. As he turned, he caught sight of her weapons scroll lying near a clump of bushes.

Walking grimly forward, he prepared himself for the possibility of her cold body lying behind the foliage. Gritting his teeth, Neji rounded the clump, looking around for any sign of Tenten. There were markings on the ground, as if a body had been dragged along. Following the tracks, Neji rounded a tree, nearly tripping over something lying in the gloom at the base of the tree. _Tenten! _His heart leapt, but it was merely a piece of pink cloth. A very familiar piece of pink cloth. _This is … her shirt? _ he thought in confusion. Making his way forward he saw more pieces of clothing on the ground. His heart sped up, his breathing shallow, as a terrible suspicion began to form in his mind.

_No … no … not her. Please, God, not her. Not that._ He pleaded mentally, not even trying to deny his uncharacteristic fear anymore. He rounded another tree and despite the dawning horror of his suspicions, he was unprepared for the sight of her naked body lying abandoned beneath another big, old tree.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Wow, thanks for the response guys. Since it seems to be (mostly) favourable, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to R&R ^_^!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_Tenten. _Neji screamed her name inwardly, falling to his knees next to her bruised and beaten body. Hesitantly, he stretched out his hand, feeling for a pulse, for any sign of life. His stomach churned as he finally detected a faint, erratic heartbeat. His heart leapt with relief, tears gathering in his eyes. Tears of anger, pain, relief …. he didn't know.

Her hair had come loose from the two buns she habitually wore high on her head, and was spread around her in a pillow of dark silk. _Or had been torn loose,_ he acknowledged painfully. Neji reached a trembling hand out to gently stroke over her cheek; a bruise marred the soft skin.  
_She's so pale … so still …_ he took a firm hold of himself. Staring at her in horror and disbelief wasn't helping anyone. Taking a deep breath, he tried to ascertain how bad her injuries were. A few light bruises marred her face, her lower lip had been split, but she didn't seem to have suffered any serious head wounds. His gaze shifted down, wincing as he took in the bruises on her arms, the livid bite marks on her breasts. Holding hard to his courage, he shifted his gaze down her abdomen. Smears of blood on her stomach, he noted, but no knife or burn wounds. Despite the almost superhuman effort he was exerting in controlling his emotions, his hard-won control shattered when he saw the bruises on her hips, the blood smears on her inner thighs, the scratch and bite marks. They had not been gentle, not that he'd expected them to have been.

Grimly he acknowledged that it had been _a them_. Men - not a single man. For the first time in his life, Neji found himself at a total loss. What should he do? Would it be okay to move her? To cover her? Should he attempt to wash away the blood? He stared at the tear tracks still visible on her bruised cheeks, and rage flooded through him. A rage so cold and focused, he was shaking with the strength of it. _  
…forgive me … we tried … _Gai-sensei's words echoed in the recesses of his mind. By the looks of it, they had never had a chance. There had simply been too many ninjas for the three of them to contend with, especially if they'd been returning from a mission with their chakra levels low.

Crushing guilt spread in his soul. _So that's what I was seeing in Gai-sensei's eyes. Not pain or worry. But guilt. _The fear, and the pain and the helplessness she must have felt welled up in his mind. _My fault. If I had been there … We trained together, learned to fight together… _"I'm so sorry … " his words trailed off as he stared at the unconscious girl and came to the realization that no amount of apologies or guilt could ever make this right.

A rustling startled him out of his reverie. Instantly, he placed himself in a protective crouch over Tenten's body. A snarl lifted his mouth as he searched around for the source of the sound. _No one will get close enough to touch her ever again _he vowed silently.

"Neji, it's us". A blonde man with whisker scars on his cheeks appeared on the other side of the tree, a girl hovering by his side. Another landed in front of the other two, having left his perch in the tree's branches. Still lost in his own personal hell, it took Neji a few moments before he recognized Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. Even when recognition dawned, he made no move to leave his defensive crouch.

He watched their expressions as they took in the scene before them. Naruto looked as if he might be physically ill and quickly turned his eyes away from Tenten's naked form. Tears had welled in Sakura's large green eyes, her hand clapped over her mouth to stifle her gasp of horror. Only Kakashi didn't react obviously, the mask that obscured most of his face made it nearly impossible to tell, yet Neji saw his one visible eye tightening almost imperceptibly.

"Leave." Neji's almost didn't recognize his own voice, it was so distorted with rage. Sakura seemed to pull herself together. "Neji-kun, I need to take care of her. I can help her" her voice was almost pleading. Fighting the rage that had him, almost literally, seeing red, Neji managed to hiss through clenched teeth,  
"not you… them … don't … looking …"  
"No, I'm not … "Naruto immediately started to protest, his back still turned. Sakura glared at him. Kakashi simply turned and walked away, leading Naruto with him. Sakura approached Neji warily, her hands held in front of her.

"I swear, Neji-kun, I'm only going to see what I can do to help," she said softly, persuasively. Neji had not taken his eyes off the two retreating men. When they were out of sight, he shifted his gaze to Sakura. Moving aside to allow her access to the unconscious girl, he said softly, "Doesn't look like much more than superficial wounds …. On the outside at least," he added bitterly.

Sakura set to work, her chakra lighting up the gloom as she checked Tenten over. "She's in shock, I'm not sure how much internal damage there might be. She could have a concussion," she informed him softly.  
Out of the corner of her eye, she was watching the raging emotions on Neji's face. Seeing him like this had shocked all of them. It was totally uncharacteristic for him to show _any _emotion.

Neji was dangerous at the best of times, his calm, stoic attitude made him completely ruthless, incapable of mercy, but an angry Neji …. Sakura knew she had to tread carefully. With an almost visible effort Neji seemed to calm himself. "Lee …" he started.

"There are other medical-nin with him as we speak." Sakura assured him quickly. Sighing, she sat back on her heels. "Well, I've done what I can for now. We have to get her back to Konoha. She needs to be in a hospital." Sakura started forward to lift her patient, but before she'd moved into position, Neji had stepped between her and Tenten. "Neji," she said angrily, finally losing patience, the impossible situation overcoming the professional detachment she'd been fighting to keep in place since entering the clearing.

"I'll do it," he said quietly. Slowly, Sakura nodded. Feeling tears well up in her eyes again, as she watched Neji removing his shirt, and carefully wrapping Tenten's body in it. Sakura worriedly wondered whether she dared mention that Neji barely looked able to support himself. From under lowered lashes, she watched him. He looked the same … and yet …. different. She couldn't place what had changed. He had the same nearly waist-length dark hair, tied back loosely as always, his light, pearly eyes - the physical manifestation of the Hyuuga bloodline limit - were the same, pupils so light they were nearly invisible. Emotion had darkened his eyes to near lavender. He was just as impossibly handsome as he'd always been, still tall and lean, muscles well-developed from years of hard hand-to-hand combat training and yet…

Once he'd covered the unconscious girl to his satisfaction, Neji motioned for Sakura to precede them into the clearing where Lee was being tended. "How is he?" Neji asked as soon as the medical team finished readying their patient for travel. "It's too soon to tell, he's lost a lot of blood." Neji nodded wearily, he'd expected no less from the little he'd seen of Lee's injuries.

"It's not your fault you know," Sakura's gentle voice broke through the guilt welling up in him again.  
"You think." Neji replied bitterly. She bit her lip, but after stealing a glance at Kakashi, she seemed to think better of elaborating on the topic. Neji shot a grateful glance at Kakashi. He seemed to understand. But then, it wasn't so strange that Kakashi could understand the turmoil raging inside him. Both were considered geniuses, Kakashi had lost teammates in the past, would also have borne the crushing guilt of knowing that he would have been able to turn the tide of the battle in his teammates' favour.

"You're sure you're okay to carry Tenten?" Naruto asked Neji, still avoiding looking anywhere near the girl in Neji's arms. "You look exhausted."  
"She's light. I'm fine." Neji replied shortly. They started the slow return journey, trying to give all due consideration to the injuries of their two unconscious companions.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Wow, thanks for all of the reviews! Since there have been so many requests for a longer chapter, I've decided to combine chapter 3 and 4 into one, so this chapter has now gone into the complete opposite direction from the first two – it's very long. Anyway, hope you like and, as always, I look forward to hearing what you think of it! **_

_**Disclaimer: I think we've established by now that I do not own Naruto**_

_**Chapter 3**_

They reached the gates not long after moonrise and made straight for the hospital. Almost as soon as Neji had lowered Tenten gently onto the hospital bed, his strength finally gave out. His knees buckled and his head swam with exhaustion. He braced himself with both hands on the side of the bed, fighting to stay upright.

"Neji, go home," Sakura said softly. "I promise I won't leave her side, but you have to get some rest. You're no good to her if you're dead on your feet." Privately, Sakura was amazed that he'd had the strength to make it to the hospital, carrying Tenten all the way.

He started to protest, but realizing the fact that he'd reached the end of his tether, he nodded wearily.  
"Sakura, how did they know to send you?" Neji had wondered how news of the incident had reached the village so quickly. How many people knew what had happened to Tenten? She would hate for everyone to know of the events that had transpired in the clearing.

"No one else knows. Tsunade-sama requested Team Kakashi to assist you as we were available and rested and considering the state Gai-sensei had been in, I think she wanted Kakashi's experience and Naruto's strength out there," Sakura replied reassuringly. "Don't worry, Neji. Kakashi-sensei is hardly a gossip, and I'll make sure that Naruto keeps this to himself."

He turned to leave, finally satisfied that he'd done all he could for the moment. _Even though it is much too little and far too late, _he thought. As he reached the door, he paused, and over his shoulder he said, "Thank you, Sakura-chan." He could almost feel how startled she was by his thanks. He grimaced. _I really do need sleep._ He left quickly, before he lost the last of his already shredded control and showed how affected he really was. It was a well-known fact that he was an emotionless bastard, after all.

Sakura realized she was still staring open-mouthed after Neji, and gave herself a quick mental shake. Hurrying to Tenten's side she began setting up for the examination she was sure Tsunade-sama would insist on performing herself. Sure enough, Sakura had just finished her preparations, when the door to the private room opened and the fifth Hokage and legendary healer entered the room. Naruto scurried along in her wake, looking anxious.

"She's stable for the moment. I healed all her superficial injuries, but there's a lot of … internal damage," Sakura said, forestalling the questions she knew her master would ask. For some reason, she felt very awkward elaborating on exactly _what_ internal injuries Tenten had sustained. A quick glance at Naruto's reddening cheeks told her exactly why she felt that way. Anger flared up suddenly and she rounded on her friend. "Yes, that's right, Naruto. _Internal damage_. That's what I said. What are you doing in here anyway?!" Sakura was suddenly unable to hold back the tears that had been threatening ever since she'd first caught sight of Tenten in the clearing. Tsunade calmly walked passed her weeping apprentice, and began her own examination.

Naruto looked absolutely terrified at being confronted by a weeping, angry Sakura. He swallowed hard. "Does Neji know?" he finally whispered.  
"No, he's got enough to deal with at the moment. It's not really necessary for him to know the exact extent of her injuries," Sakura sighed, wiping her eyes.

"Sakura-chan, have you ever seen Neji like that?" Naruto asked quietly. "Why would he suddenly care so much … he was ready to murder us back there ... in the clearing, I mean." Naruto looked even more uncomfortable.

"Do you think there's something going on between them? Neji and Tenten?" Tsunade asked sharply, looking up from her examination. _That would be perfect, just the added complication this situation needs, _Tsunade thought nearly groaning out loud.

Sakura sighed again, the two of them really were worse than useless when it came to emotions.  
"No, I don't think so. But, Naruto, imagine if that had been me back there. How would you have reacted to being blatantly confronted with the fact that one of the people you've been closest to for most of your life had been brutally … raped … and left for dead?" she asked wearily, forcing the ugly word through clenched teeth.

Naruto paled. "We all wanted to murder the bastards at that moment, Sakura-chan, that's not what I meant. It's just that Neji … he looked almost deranged. But Neji, he just doesn't … feel … " he trailed off. Sakura looked at Naruto closely, feeling her exasperation vanishing as she saw that he was genuinely trying to make sense of recent events.  
"Even Neji has feelings. He's just better at suppressing them than most. If you tell yourself you don't care for long enough, eventually you believe it to be true," Sakura said, finally.

"Huh," Tsunade turned back to her examination. "Naruto, get out. Sakura, come and help me here, nothing we won't be able to take care of physically. Mentally is a different story." Tsunade sighed, feeling the hopelessness of the situation wash over her. Sakura hurried over to help tend the injured girl as Naruto slowly made his way out of the room.

*****

His breathing came in sharp, painful gasps. He pushed his sweat-soaked hair off his forehead, trying to make sense of the confused images that swam through his mind. _A dream, that's all_, Neji told himself. Unwilling to examine exactly what he had seen in his dreams he covered his face with his hands and sighed. Dawn was still a while away, but he knew he would never be able to get to sleep again. He had to see Tenten, to banish his last image of her broken, bruised body.

Maybe if he saw her in sane, safe surroundings he'd be able to put the nightmarish pictures swirling in his subconscious out of his mind. Unable to hold the memories at bay any longer, he stared at the images from his dreams. In a myriad different ways, he had always been just too late. Every time he was confronted with her body as he'd seen it in the woods the previous afternoon. For the millionth time since he'd found her, Neji pushed the anger away, he didn't even know who he was angry at anymore. He got up and went into the bathroom, shedding his clothes, and stepped under the warm spray of the shower, hoping against hope that the clean, clear water would wash away his memories for a time.

*****

He entered her hospital room quietly. True to her word, Sakura had not left Tenten's side. She was fast asleep, her head on her arms, in a chair next to the bed. Trying not to wake them, Neji moved on silent feet to the bed and stared at the girl lying in it. Tenten looked so peaceful. Cleaned now, with no bruises in sight, it was almost possible to forget that anything truly bad had happened to her. Her heart-shaped face was pale, but aside from that she looked exactly as she always had. The same chestnut hair, currently spread in a silken cloud around her head, the same smooth, ivory skin. The same pink lips, the same determined chin, and he knew that, if she were to open them, her eyes they would be the colour of melted chocolate, just like they'd always been. It was the expression that they would contain that worried him.

Without his conscious volition, his hand reached out to smooth a few wayward strands of hair from her face. _How are we going to deal with this? _he asked the sleeping girl silently. _The guilt we all feel … how is that going to affect your recovery? _As far as he knew, she'd had no lovers, whether from aversion or lack of interest – he'd never cared enough to find out. Or maybe he'd convinced himself that he hadn't cared enough to find out. The thought of anyone touching her had always made him so uncomfortable that he'd shied away from the topic almost instinctively.

Neji shook his head despairingly._ Will the shock be too much for you? Gai-sense knew their intentions before you did. _Silently, he acknowledged that he was imminently grateful that, that fate had been spared him, at least. He had an idea that he would not have emerged from such an experience with his sanity intact. He didn't blame Gai-sensei for fleeing from the sight of her lying beneath that tree.

_I'm sorry. If I'd been there, this wouldn't have happened. _Somewhere during his fevered nightmares, he'd come to the realization that he would have done anything to spare her this. Even have taken her and run, much as that irked his pride. _I would have left Gai-sensei and Lee to fend for themselves as best they can … as long as you were safe, as long as you didn't have to go through this, he_ admitted silently, guiltily. It went against everything he'd ever been taught. Individuals did not matter, all that mattered was the mission. Shock coursed through his body as he examined his last and most desperate thought. Was that really true? _When did that happen? _Chaos reigned in his head and his heart. He had to get away - he badly needed the peace that meditation brought. He leaned over and pressed his lips softly to her forehead. Then he left before he could examine the action too deeply.

*****

Sakura jerked awake as the first rays of sunlight touched her pink hair. Sleepily she turned to look over at Tenten. To her surprise, the other girl was already awake. She was staring at the ceiling, motionless, but for the tears that spilled, unchecked, down her cheeks. "Oh, Ten," Sakura whispered helplessly, wishing there was something she could do. She moved to embrace her friend, but Tenten held up her hand, motioning for Sakura to stay where she was.

Taking a deep breath, Tenten wiped her eyes and asked evenly, "What happened?" Sakura was floundering, what to say? She finally decided that after everything Tenten had gone through the previous day, she didn't deserve to be lied to. "What do you remember?" Sakura asked cautiously. "There was a fight. Lee and Gai-sensei were down," Tenten spoke with only a slight tremor in her voice and Sakura knew that before she had woken up, Tenten had used the time to prepare herself for this conversation.

"I was surrounded and everything went black before I could escape or attack. One of them must have hit me from behind. When I came to, I was being dragged somewhere. I was panicking because I didn't want to leave the clearing behind. I was worried about Lee and Gai-sensei. But they didn't take me far away," Tenten took another deep breath and staring at her hands finished her tale in a painful rush.  
"They … they …. I thought I was going to die," gasping through the sobs, she finally raised her eyes to meet Sakura's green ones questioningly.

"Don't, Ten, you don't have to –" Sakura also took a deep breath when Tenten gave her a look that was both commanding and imploring. Striving for an even tone she said, "Gai-sensei somehow made it back to Konoha that same afternoon. Neji saw him coming and after hearing the two of you were still in the clearing he left immediately to help you and Lee. Team Kakashi and a couple of medical-nins were also dispatched to follow after Neji and assist him." Sakura stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"Who found me?" Tenten stared intently at Sakura. "Neji did," Sakura confessed, watching her friend close her eyes in pain and mortification. "But, Ten, seriously, he was different … I don't know how to explain it …" Sakura's voice trailed off as she met the other girl's tear-filled eyes.

"Who knows?" Tenten demanded, her voice quivering.  
"Me, Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Gai-sensei, I assume … and Neji," Sakura winced slightly as she reached the end of the recitation. "Ten, Neji found you, and when we showed up, he immediate set himself between you and us. Kakashi-sensei and Naruto could barely have had time to assimilate much beyond the fact that … you were hurt," Sakura finished lamely. She knew how much her friend would hate the thought of so many people knowing what had happened to her, but the question had been unavoidable.

"Don't worry, though, Naruto is pretending to know nothing and I'm not even entirely sure that Kakashi-sensei …. " Sakura gave up as she realized how useless her reassurances were.  
"No one will repeat anything. And Kakashi-sensei and Naruto won't ever indicate that they know anything beyond that you were hurt. I'd wager that Gai-sensei will be the same. Of course, you know what Tsunade-sama is like, but she's your official doctor, so that situation is totally different." Sakura finished softly.

"And Neji will not be able to bear being near me," Tenten whispered bitterly.  
Sakura took her friend's hand, "No, Ten, listen to me, he wouldn't allow any of us near you. He only allowed me to treat you after Kakashi-sensei and Naruto had left. He carried you back to Konoha himself, and I had to make him leave, for God's sake! He's not going to avoid you as if you'd suddenly caught the plague! None of this is your fault! You have nothing to be ashamed of!" Sakura realized she was nearly shouting. At whom her anger was directed, she had no idea, but the thought of adding even more pain to what Tenten must already be enduring was not something she could contemplate calmly.

"You don't know Neji like I do. There, in the situation, he couldn't do much else except protect me from further harm. He would have considered it his duty. You know how traditional he is. But after I no longer needed his protection, he would have run a mile. He thinks weakness is catching," Tenten gave a watery chuckle, and Sakura smiled weakly at the attempted joke. _She's trying to hide how much that hurts. I don't think she's right though. She didn't see Neji last night. Please God, let her not be right. Don't let him abandon her now.  
_

"Oh, Ten, still? After all this time?" Sakura asked sadly.  
"Always," Tenten whispered, "Don't tell me your feelings for Sasuke have suddenly changed, Sakura. Have you given up on finding him and bringing him home?"  
Sakura was stung into replying with an indignant, "Of course not!"  
Tenten sighed wearily, "Well, the years haven't changed how I feel, either. I love Neji as much today as I did when I was twelve."

Silence reigned as Sakura struggled to find words of consolation. When she looked up at Tenten again, she had to bite back her tears, watching the silent sobs wracking her friend's slight frame. "Ten, it's not your fault. You were heavily outnumbered; there was nothing you could've done. You've done nothing wrong."  
"I know that." Tenten whispered. "Intellectually, at least." The last words were nearly inaudible. Sakura swallowed hard against the painful lump in her throat. "I'm going to fetch Tsunade-sama. She'll want to know you're awake." Turning quickly to hide that she'd caught the last words, Sakura left to allow her friend a chance to gather her composure.

In the hallway, Sakura leaned against the door, taking deep breaths to calm herself. _Where's the professional detachment you're always so proud of now?_ she asked herself bitterly. Sensing someone watching her, she looked up to see Neji standing in front of her. Expressionless, as always.  
"Is she awake?" he asked, no inflection in his voice. He seemed completely oblivious to the near emotional breakdown Sakura had almost had in front of him.

"Y…yes," Sakura said, hesitantly. He looked calmer, but who knew what emotions were swirling below his stoic manner? After the way he'd acted yesterday she knew that, despite his calm, there was a lot more going on below the surface than anyone would ever have guessed.

Grabbing her courage with both hands Sakura said, "Neji, I don't know if you seeing her right now would be the best thing …. f-for her," she nearly swallowed the last part of her sentence when his eyes flashed.

"Is that your professional opinion or your personal opinion as her friend?" he asked, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he had obviously regained control. Sakura sighed in relief, the last thing she wanted right now was to fight with Neji. "A bit of both," she replied honestly, "She's very … emotional, as you can imagine…" her sentence trailed off.

"And you think that I'm such a heartless bastard, that I would make her feel even worse. That I would blame her, berate her for her _weakness."_ Neji took a shuddering breath but he spoke calmly – as long as you didn't pay too much attention to the undercurrents in his voice.

_Still on the brink of snapping, then, _Sakura thought, her heart sinking into her shoes. She looked up, staring him squarely in the eye. "I don't know, Neji. Are you capable of compassion? Will you be able to look at her and see the person she is? Or will you only see the victim? Will you be able to look beyond what happened to her, treat her as if yesterday didn't happen?"

"That's ridiculous, Sakura," Neji barked a bitter laugh, "As much as we all wish that yesterday could be erased, it _can't. _It _did _happen and it _will _change her and therefore her interactions with people – no matter how long we've know her, she's going to be different now. Do you understand that? Do you want me to completely disregard what she's been through? Do you want us to pretend that nothing happened? Force her to face everything alone because we're all so busy pretending that nothing _happened_?"

"Of course not! But the fact remains, treating her as if she's suddenly been contaminated would be very detrimental to her recovery. And _that _is my professional opinion and I _will _forbid your seeing her if that's how you intend to act," Sakura lifted her chin in determination.  
Neji ran an agitated hand through his long hair. "Sakura, the last thing I want is to hurt her. I don't know … I … just … ". He looked at such a loss that Sakura took pity on him, "Just try to act as normally as possible, if she wants to talk about it, she will. Don't push and for God's sake, if you suddenly revert back to emotionless-man, get the hell out, okay?" she said sternly.

He remained where he was, the insult receiving no reaction, an almost panicked expression on his face. Sakura sighed, "I'm going to fetch Tsunade-sama now, so you won't have long." He nodded, resolutely and entered the room._ I hope I did the right thing here. _Sakura turned quickly before she changed her mind and dragged him back out again.

*****

At the sound of the door opening, Tenten sighed and briefly considered pretending to be asleep. She just couldn't take any more pity at the moment. Deciding that such an action would be cowardly, she mentally braced herself, plastering a fake smile on her face and turning to the door. The smile slowly slid from her lips as she recognized her visitor. _God, no, not him. Why did he come here? _She thought in near panic.  
"You're awake. " Neji stated. She didn't reply, too stunned, still trying to deal with the fact that he'd actually come to see her after yesterday.

The longer she was silent the more discomfited he became. _Maybe Sakura had a point. Maybe I'm not the best person for this situation, _he thought, desperately trying to think of something to say.  
"I'm glad you're okay," he offered lamely, at last. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized the blunder._ Oh, god, you idiot! _  
"I mean, that is, I …" he stuttered. To Tenten's utter amazement a faint tinge of pink appeared high on his cheekbones. _Did he just … blush … and stutter? _She thought in confusion.

He gave up on articulating a sentence and stared at her almost … pleadingly? _What the hell is going on here? Is this really … Neji? _She stared at him suspiciously, considering the fact that this might be someone's idea of making her feel better. But, only Sakura knew she was awake and Tenten was sure that Sakura had more sense than to attempt a transformation, she couldn't be _that _misguided. They stared at each other for an interminable moment.

_This was a mistake, _Neji thought and said, "I just wanted to see how you were. I won't disturb you any longer." He turned to leave. Belatedly, Tenten realized she'd been so shocked by his appearance in her hospital room and his weird behavior that she'd still not said anything. "Neji … wait," she said. "You don't have to go. I'm … it's … thank you for coming," she said in a rush, staring at her hands, trying to ignore the blush spreading on her cheeks.

Turning slowly at the sound of her voice, Neji looked at the girl in the bed. She looked decidedly uncomfortable. "No, really, I shouldn't have come, you obviously don't want visitors just yet. I wasn't thinking." _Face it, she doesn't want you here. _Neji told himself, ignoring the emotions that accompanied the thought.

"No, really, I was just surprised to see you here," Tenten insisted. As he wavered in the doorway, she indicated the chair by the bed that Sakura had so recently vacated. "Please, come in. Sit."  
Neji hesitated, but as his eyes met hers and he saw the pleading in their chocolate depths he gave in.  
As he slowly lowered himself into the chair, Tenten gathered her courage, "So, I haven't had a chance to thank you for yesterday," she said slowly, not looking at him. _She's thanking me? She should hate me, _Neji thought bitterly.

"Well, this is awkward!" Tenten gave a forced laugh. "Look, there's no sense in ignoring what happened yesterday. I know that it was you who found me" she cringed inwardly at the thought. Tears welled in her eyes again and she forced them back impatiently before she continued, "I know how you must hate having to come here, so thank you for your concern and for your help yesterday, but I'm fine, really. You don't have to - "

"You know nothing." Neji interrupted her in a low voice vibrating with rage.  
Tenten's head jerked up. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked in disbelief.  
"You don't know anything. I didn't come here out of some misguided sense of duty, as you so obviously believe. You don't have to thank me for helping you and you sure as hell don't have to pretend for my sake!" From somewhere in the back of his mind, Neji was aware that the unfamiliar emotions that had been building inside him since yesterday had finally boiled over, but even knowing the fragile state of the girl in front of him, he was unable to stop the words from pouring out.  
"I know that you're still healing and this probably isn't the best time to be saying this, but I was _there_, Ten. I _saw_ what they did to you. How you're even capable of pretending, I don't know. But don't waste your energy on trying to make _me_ feel better!" In absolute amazement he listened to his own raised voice.  
_Well, this is going _exactly _as you planned. _Neji buried his head in his hands, breathing hard.

As his breathing gradually slowed, he became aware of the muted sobs coming from the bed. _Oh great, you made her cry. _"Oh, god, Ten, please… please don't cry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean …" without being aware of making a conscious decision, he reached out and gathered her into his arms."I'm sorry, so very sorry," he whispered.

He felt her body tensing as he pulled her against his chest. Feeling her try to pull away violently, he realized that he'd gotten this wrong, too. His thoughts flashed back to his last mission, the decimated village, the small bodies of children lying haphazardly where they'd fallen in death, the unthinking fear of the abused women huddling in their torn clothing whenever he or his men came within touching distance, despite their repeated efforts to assure them that they were there to help.

_I won't let that happen to her. I won't allow her to be overwhelmed by the fear, _he thought wildly. Taking her by the shoulders, Neji forced her to face him. Holding her chin, he looked into her fearful eyes. _Does she even recognize me at this point? _he wondered. "Tenten, look at me," he used his most commanding tone. "It's me, Neji. It's just me. I would never, _never_ do anything to hurt you. You know that. You know me." He kept up a steady stream of reassuring phrases until the wild fear faded from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered at last, through her tears. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said gently.  
Tenten shook her head, crying so hard now that she was unable to form the words of denial.  
"No, Ten, listen, you have nothing, _nothing, _to be sorry for, nothing to be ashamed of."  
Drawing her gently back into a loose embrace, he was gratified that this time, at least, she didn't fight to be free. _How much courage did that take? To set the instinctive fear aside?_ He wondered silently. She hesitantly allowed her arms to snake around his neck, as he slowly rocked her back and forth, she finally allowed the floodgates of pain and guilt to open and gave herself over to the tears that had been threatening to overwhelm her since she'd first opened her eyes.

_ *****_

"Come. We'll come back later," Tsunade pulled at Sakura's arm. She was still staring, as if transfixed, at the scene in the hospital room. As she dragged an unresisting Sakura away from Tenten's hospital room, Tsunade shook her head in amazement. _Who would have thought that Neji would be the one she'd allow to comfort her? Who knew Neji would be capable of drawing that out of her?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews/favorites/alerts! Another long one ^_^ … with a bit of … erm … (slight) lime-ishness . If you squint. I think. Anyway, don't forget to R&R, pleeaasse? **_

_**Disclaimer: I still own nothing … I checked …**_

_**Chapter 4**_

_Six months later_

Someone was screaming, crying, pleading … a girl … her voice breaking with pain and fear … Tenten jerked awake, her heart pounding. Wild glances around her bedroom showed her that there was nothing to be afraid of. Sighing, she untangled herself from her sweat-soaked sheets and slowly walked over to her window, fighting to calm her frantic heart.

Leaning her forehead against the cooling glass she took deep breaths, her heart finally slowing down. _When will the dreams stop? _She thought, tears of despair clouding her eyes. Staring at nothing, she reflected on the last six months - the most trying time of her life. _At least everyone is finally back to normal. Thank god they've finally stopped treating me like I might break._

The first time she'd faced her team had been excruciating, she still didn't know how she'd gotten through that painful interview. As soon as Lee had been allowed out of his hospital bed, he'd come to her room. One look at the tear-filled dark eyes below his bushy brows, so similar to Gai-sensei's, and she'd known that he'd known. Whether he'd known back in the clearing or whether he'd been informed once he'd regained consciousness in the hospital, she didn't know. He'd simply said, "If there's anything you need, please let me know." She'd nodded and he'd dropped into the chair next to her bed that Neji had vacated only minutes before. They'd sat in a companionable silence until Gai-sensei had appeared in the doorway. The compassion in his eyes had almost been her undoing, but she'd held hard to her courage and met his gaze unflinchingly.

They'd soon started talking about innocuous topics, for which she would always be very grateful. Still, she didn't really relax, not until Neji returned. As if sensing her emotions were barely under control, he'd maneuvered his body in between her and the other two. He'd not left her side, until he was forced out of the door by Sakura. She still wasn't sure what to make of the way he'd acted during that time. When Naruto, Shikamaru and Ino had brought her flowers, he'd nearly snarled at them. How it must have looked to Shikamaru and Ino, whom she suspected had been dragged along in all innocence by Naruto for moral support, she didn't even like to think. Shaking her head, she forced the thought away.

Aside from never leaving the hospital voluntarily, Neji had been the same old Neji. He'd never again showed as much emotion as he had during that first meeting, when he'd forced her to face up to the facts of her situation. Somehow, she'd felt better after crying herself to sleep in his arms. Since that day he'd been different. He'd _felt _different. Not so closed off - she had sensed the emotions swirling in him, despite his usual almost-bored expression. Another sigh escaped her as she forced her thoughts away from those dark days, but her stubborn mind refused to let go of the image of Neji as she'd seen him the last time.

Barely a month after she'd left the hospital, he'd been assigned another mission. A long one, he'd been gone for months now. Saying goodbye to him had nearly broken the fragile courage she'd managed to build up in the preceding weeks. Tenten rather suspected that Tsunade-sama had sent him away deliberately - whether to stop Tenten from needing his presence too much or to allow Neji a chance to get rid of the simmering anger that had been ever-present in his eyes since he'd found her that afternoon, she couldn't venture a guess. But she did know that everyone had remarked on the change in Neji's behavior. The slightest remark had Neji so angry that he was barely able to hold it in check.

Except with her - with her he'd been unfailingly, uncharacteristically gentle. Tenten shook her head violently, trying to dislodge the confusion in her mind. Tears welled in her eyes. _God, I'm so sick of crying. But I miss him, so much. _

* * *

They were near Konoha now. Neji was thankful that the mission had finally come to an end. He signaled his team to keep moving. Ignoring their groans of disbelief, Neji sped up. They could still make it back to Konoha before dawn if they kept moving through the night. Silently he acknowledged that, no matter how much he had hated leaving Tenten behind, he had needed the distraction. The mission had provided just the necessary outlet for the emotions that he'd been unable to process. It really wasn't surprising that he'd been unable to deal with the deluge of feelings that Tenten had awakened in him, he thought wryly. Always focused on his goals, regarding emotion as a weakness, he'd been completely out of his depth. He'd had no idea what he was feeling or how to express it. He'd tried to suppress it, but that didn't help - his emotions had stubbornly resisted all his efforts to make them go away. The feelings had some kind of unfathomable power and refused to submit to his will. He still regretted his outburst that morning when he'd first seen Tenten. His first lesson in emotions had been that bottling them up, only made them that much worse when they finally exploded of their own volition.

The anger he had been able to recognize - he knew the reasons for it, could justify it - but the helplessness when he watched Tenten struggle to smile had been … He shook his head in confusion. _Don't lose your focus, Hyuuga. You know what to do with the anger. Don't think about the rest. _The anger still wasn't burned out, rather the mission had been just what he'd needed to hone the rage. He was saving it for when he finally found the bastards that had dared to lay a finger on Tenten. Thus far all the information he'd managed to gather had led to dead-ends but each failed attempt at locating the perpetrators only made Neji that much more determined to find them. Even if it took a lifetime. _They can't hide forever, _he thought grimly.

The image of her vulnerable, tear-filled eyes when he'd gone to say goodbye had haunted his dreams for the last few months, but, in that moment, he'd been forced to recognize that Tsunade had been right in sending him away. Tenten needed to face her demons on her own, that was one battle he couldn't fight for her. Whether it had been right or not, he had tried to protect her from everything in the immediate aftermath of her ordeal - he couldn't have done any different. But instead of facing her fears, she'd used his shielding presence to hide from her feelings. He sighed. His feelings, her feelings, he still felt overwhelmed by the sheer strength of all this emotion - when he allowed himself to dwell on it. It had felt like he was abandoning her, when he'd finally torn himself away, her whispered "Be safe" thundering in his ears.

Tomorrow he would be able to judge for himself if he'd been deluding himself into thinking that he'd done the right thing in obeying orders and leaving her. _Tomorrow. _Neji stepped up the pace, resolutely closing his ears to the complaints of the team dragging their feet behind him. After the last seven months everyone thought he was crazy anyway.

* * *

Tenten sighed as she bent to pick up another discarded workbook. It continually amazed her, the chaos such small people could leave behind them. It was time for morning break - a blessedly quiet time for her. After being given a clean bill of health by Tsunade-sama, she'd been assigned as a teaching assistant to Iruka-sensei at the same shinobi school where she'd received her education, until Tsunade-sama judged her ready for missions again. How Iruka could actually enjoy this was a total mystery to her. Sensing a presence behind her, she called over her shoulder without looking up. "I'm just finishing up here, Iruka-sensei. I'll be right out." When the expected cheerful reply wasn't forthcoming, Tenten turned, "Iruka-sensei?" Her eyes widened and the books slid through her fingers. Neji stood in the doorway, an enigmatic expression on his face, Iruka bobbing anxiously at his shoulder. "Neji," she breathed, everything forgotten as she stared at him in complete disbelief.

"Hello, Tenten," Neji made a formal little bow in her direction. A laugh bubbled through her lips. Not noticing what she was doing, she started forward, and suddenly found herself in his arms, laughing and crying simultaneously. "No one told me you were due back!" she accused him, when she'd finally found her breath again.

"I'm a little earlier than anyone expected, I think," his slow, almost shy smile, so rarely seen, seemed to light up even the dark, hidden recesses of her soul - the parts she hated to examine. She'd always thought that if she had only lived to see him smile once, it would have been enough.

Neji felt the relief coursing through him, smiling inwardly at Iruka's audible sigh. Though the tears had been a little disconcerting, the mere fact that she'd thrown herself in his arms without any sign of hesitation, at least showed that some progress had been made in his absence. A full analysis of her behaviour would come later, when she'd calmed down, he had to be absolutely sure that he'd done the right thing in leaving. "How did you know where to find me?" Tenten still hadn't let go of him, and the odd bubble of hope he'd been carrying around for the last few hours seemed to expand.

"I've just given my report to the Hokage. She told me." A cough from Iruka wrenched him back to reality. Tenten hurriedly let go of him, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. "Yes, Iruka-sensei, I know," he sighed. "I only came to let you know we got back, um, safely and all," he said awkwardly, aware now of all the little faces that were lining up outside the windows, taking in his jounin vest with awe. "Iruka-sensei kindly allowed the disruption of routine, on the condition that I make it quick." Neji couldn't help but let the sarcasm color his tone. _Really, has he always been this annoying? _Neji asked himself with frustration, but, she had smiled and he knew that seeing her even remotely happy again was worth any amount of trouble. Iruka pointedly cleared his throat, interrupting Neji's musings.

Tenten couldn't help giggling, as Neji closed his eyes obviously struggling for patience. "I'll see you later, though?" she asked urgently. "I'll meet you here after school" he raised his eyebrows questioningly. Tenten smiled and nodded and as Neji walked away with her laughter still ringing in his ears, he realized his heart was almost singing. He hadn't dared to hope for her laughter in many months.

Throughout the rest of the day Tenten couldn't focus on anything beside the fact that Neji was really back and that she was really seeing him tonight. As the school day finally drew to a close and the children rushed for the door, Tenten turned to Iruka and said guiltily, "I'm sorry, sensei. My head wasn't here today, I promise I'll make up for it tomorrow." To her surprise Iruka grinned at her, "Don't worry about it, Tenten. Who could blame you for being unable to concentrate on kids when you had a hot date to look forward to," he laughed delightedly, when Tenten blushed beet-red. "So there _is _something going on between you two!"

"No, no! Not at all!" Tenten protested, willing the blush to recede. "We're just friends, we were on Gai-sensei's genin team together, remember?"

"I remember," abruptly Iruka sobered. Giving her a sidelong look he said, "But, since I remember Neji as a child, I also know that he's never had a _friend_ – he tolerated others but he never returned affection. This is quite a turnaround for him." Seeing her discomfort at the direction the conversation had taken, Iruka decided to let it go. "Never mind me, it's none of my business."

Tenten sighed grateful that he'd let it drop. She'd just reached the door when he called after her, "Tenten, friend or more, if he makes you laugh like that more often, then his presence in your life has to be a good thing."

"I agree," she said, so softly that she wasn't even sure Iruka had heard her. She headed through the door, more running than walking, unable to wait to see Neji again.

* * *

Children poured out of the front doors of the Konoha school building, laughing and shouting, reveling in the few free hours that stretched ahead of them. From his vantage point across from the building, Neji nearly smiled as he watched their carefree antics. A couple of the children, recognizing him from earlier that day, waved and pointed him out to their friends. Neji lifted a couple of fingers in a lazy salute and the children nodded in pleased acknowledgement. As the children ran away, he let his hand drop. _I must be losing my mind. Did I just wave at some kids? _Shaking his head in disbelief, he immediately resumed his usual almost-bored expression, leaning casually back against the tree under which he was waiting for Tenten.

Still pondering his imminent loss of sanity, he never noticed Tenten leaving the building and making her way to where he was waiting. "A penny for them. " Tenten said, teasingly. He looked up, her voice breaking through his thoughts. "Oh, you know, just contemplating the flower of my youth, the usual," he replied lightly. Smirking slightly at her surprised laugh, he held out his hand in a gesture for her to precede him down the path. "Shall we?" As he fell into step beside her, she shot him a sidelong glance. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"I hadn't actually thought that far," Neji admitted. "I ran into Gai-sensei and Lee earlier and we thought maybe a team training session for tomorrow could be good? You know, for old times' sake." After a small, thoughtful silence, he added, "And I think Lee wants to try to beat me again." Tenten sighed. "The more everything changes, the more Lee stays the same, "she said ruefully. Neji smiled slightly. "I kind of like that he never changes, to be honest. Keeps the world on an even keel."

They'd reached the main road without noticing and as they passed the ramen stand, Neji came to a halt. Tenten stopped too, surprise arching her eyebrows at the awkwardness of his manner when he said, "You hungry?" Smiling inwardly at the absurdity of her thoughts – of course he wasn't feeling uncomfortable, this was _Neji_ – Tenten replied, "Sure. But why don't we get some to go and then eat it by the river? It's much too nice out to be sitting inside."

Without a word Neji complied and the evening passed peacefully, as they watched the ducks and talked. Tenten couldn't remember Neji ever being so forthcoming. For that matter she couldn't remember him ever being so relaxed. Every time he laughed she fell a little harder, a little deeper. Night descended and for the first time in months the darkness did not hold unnamed horrors. Instinctively she knew that with Neji she would always be safe.

The stars were out but, for the first time in his life, they did not hold any interest for Neji – the usual thoughts of destiny and freedom were conspicuously absent – there was no room in his head for anything but the woman lying beside him. Throughout the evening he'd noted her every word and gesture, telling himself that he was trying to make sure that she was all right. She seemed better – stronger – she was trying to put the past behind her. He'd been unable to stop the surge of pride that came with that realization, but, as he watched her staring at the sky, he was forced to admit that it had been more than that – he'd been staring at her all night because he was unable to tear his eyes away. Every movement she made was filled with a grace that he'd never noticed before. Silently, Neji acknowledged that he was in way over his head. He'd laughed – actually _laughed_ – and a few times, at that. How she'd managed that mystified him, but the more pressing problem was the curious feeling in his chest. A sort of lightness, a warmth … Neji shook his head at the voice in his head that whispered that this was what happiness felt like.

"Is something wrong?" Tenten sat up, her eyes tightening with concern._ Was_ something wrong? Neji shook is head, "No, nothing's wrong. Just … different." Tenten frowned as she puzzled over his words, "Different how?" Neji was silent as he examined the question. What _was_ different? The feeling in his chest was certainly different, but that wasn't it. Focusing on the emotions coursing through his veins, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he recognized … attraction. But – _Tenten_? How the hell had that happened?

Discomfited as he was by the sudden realization, he couldn't stop staring at her mouth, as she waited for him to answer. What would she taste like, feel like? Would her mouth be as soft as it appeared … Neji started in shock at the turn his thoughts had taken. Still staring at Tenten, he was at a total loss for words. "Neji-" she reached a hand out to him, looking almost scared. He didn't blame her - he was terrified. "Neji-" she tried again and before he'd thought it through, before he'd made a conscious decision, the words had left his mouth, "I want to kiss you."

Tenten jerked back in shock. _What did he just say? _She stared at Neji uncertainly, confusion in her eyes, but no answers could be found on the planes of his face. Swallowing hard, Tenten licked her lips, struggling to find the reply he was obviously waiting for, and nearly moaned out loud at the look on his face as he watched her tongue sweeping her lips. If she was honest with herself this was the moment she'd been waiting for almost all her life. What she'd always wanted – hoped for – but, in the back of her mind, the fear had reared its ugly head again. Wanting and fear swirled in her mind - a dizzying rollercoaster of emotion.

Neji watched the expressions flitting across her face. She had still not replied to his rashly spoken words but he read the wanting in her eyes, followed swiftly by the fear. Sighing, he opened his mouth to reassure her, "But I won't. I know you're not ready for – for that …." His voice trailed off as she stared at her hands. Turning away, he allowed her a moment to gather herself, cursing his own stupidity, as he ostensibly focused his attention on the sky.

Tenten stared at her hands. Thoughts were still running through her head in a chaotic mess but underneath it all, a clear little voice had spoken up, _What are you afraid of? Neji? He wouldn't hurt you, just now – the way he acted – that proves it. Are you going to live the rest of your life in fear of human contact because of what those bastards did? Are you going to let them win? _Abruptly reaching a decision, Tenten sat up onto her knees, moving closer to Neji, pushing the fear away resolutely.

He felt her move, felt her coming closer and nearly groaned. Didn't she realize how impossible it would be to keep to the promise he'd just made if she was that close? Then her hand was on his shoulder, touching his cheek, turning his face, and when he looked into her eyes, he was surprised – and gratified – to see that the wanting had the upper hand. Tenten focused her gaze on his mouth and moved closer, stopping uncertainly, inches away from his lips. "Kiss me. Just … go slowly."

Shock held him immobile as the full impact of the courage she was showing hit him, and then he slowly closed the distance between them. His lips met hers, moved softly, persuasively, even as he was careful not to touch her. Some part of him instinctively knew that she had to feel in control – that she shouldn't feel trapped. No matter how badly he ached to crush her mouth under his, to run his hands up and down her body, to make her moan, he had to let her set the pace. He slid his tongue out slowly, tracing the line of her lips and as Tenten gasped, he took advantage of her opened mouth, sweeping his tongue inside. Their breath mingled as fireworks seemed to explode out of nowhere. It was taking every last bit of his self-control not to reach for her, to not crush her body beneath his.

His tongue traced a line of fire over her mouth and Tenten shivered and gasped. Suddenly he was kissing her with increased passion, and she moaned involuntarily at the unfamiliar sensations assailing her senses as everything else faded away. She pressed closer, silently begging him to touch her, hold her. His arms came around her, gently pulling her against him and she was sure she'd died and gone to heaven. Nothing on earth could possibly feel this good. Then his mouth left hers and they broke apart, gasping for air.

For an interminable moment they simply stared at each other, breathing hard. The mingled confusion and desire Tenten was feeling shone from her eyes and Neji tamped down on the need that raged through his body. _That's enough - go slowly remember?_ _Don't overwhelm her. _He reached over and pulled her into his arms, laying both of them down on the soft grass. Tenten could hear Neji's heart thundering, could feel the control he was exerting in the slight tremors running through him. She felt him ghost a kiss over her hair, and tears filled her eyes as she whispered, "Thank you."

* * *

_**A/N: Was Neji too OOC? He had to be, a bit, to fit the chapter but I tried to keep him in character as much as was possible despite the (hectic) softening of his attitude. Let me know what you think!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews/alerts/favorites! You make my day ^_^  
Warning: Slight Neji OOC-ness, and even slighter lime-ishness.  
Pleeaasse R&R. Happy reading!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto in any way**_

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

Tenten launched herself in the air, twirling gracefully as she hurled another volley of sharp, pointed objects at Neji. His eyes narrowed in concentration and she knew he was debating whether Kaiten would be necessary or not. Making his decision, he turned faster and faster, until the chakra made a cage of light around his spinning form. Landing lightly, she straightened out of her crouch, glancing idly around the field where they usually trained, as she waited for Neji to finish spinning. They were alone - which was strange. Lee never passed up a chance to spar with Neji.

Neji had come to a halt and noticing her abstracted expression, he walked over to where she stood, "Tired already?" he asked, pushing his loose hair out of the way. She always liked to aim for his hair band and she never missed when she really wanted to hit something – no matter how quickly he twisted out of the way. She'd managed to loosen his hair more times than he cared to admit. Tenten jumped a little and with a guilty smile she replied, "Sorry. No, of course I'm not. We've only been at it for a couple of hours. I was just wondering where Lee is. It's not like him to miss a sparring session - especially not if he has the chance to spar with you."

Neji smirked slightly, drawing her into his arms. "You're assuming Lee was invited." Tenten glanced around automatically, but they were still alone and she relaxed into him. Twining her arms around his neck, she buried her hands in his hair, "You didn't tell Lee we were training today? Why not?" He leaned closer, his breath brushing lightly against her lips, "Well, for a start, this wouldn't have been possible had he been here. Are you complaining?"

With difficulty Tenten suppressed the shudder that ran through her at the light touch of his mouth. _Definitely not complaining, _she thought to herself. In the months since that first kiss she'd grown used to the way he made her feel – achy and shivery and … things that she didn't even know how to describe. The fear no longer tried to push the pleasure away when he kissed her. Dreamily she pressed her body closer to his, deepening the kiss, and all thought faded away, but, as always, he pulled away much too soon for her liking. Sighing, she pressed a last light kiss against his lips, trying to hold on for just a little longer, as he stepped away.

Neji cleared his throat and said, "I did tell Lee we would be training today, but he said he was meeting Gai-sensei first and that he would join us later." He smirked inwardly at the fleeting look of disappointment that flashed in her eyes. "Oh." Tenten said, striving for a casual tone, she'd kind of liked the idea of Neji purposely excluding Lee so they could be alone.

"Neji! Tenten!" They turned simultaneously at the sound of their names to see Lee jogging toward them. _Wow, what timing. If he'd arrived two minutes earlier he would've gotten an eyeful, _Tenten had to fight against the threatening blush as she imagined Lee's look of horror if he had caught her and Neji in a passionate lip-lock. Quite apart from anything else, the words _Neji_ and _passionate_ in the same sentence was enough to shock the hell out of anyone. _If only they knew. _Tenten couldn't keep from smirking smugly.

"Are you all right, Tenten? You're looking a bit flushed." Lee asked with concern, coming to a halt in front of them. _Damnit, Tenten, stop thinking things like that! You're just making a fool of yourself. Plus there's no reason to give Neji's already over-inflated ego another boost! _Mentally giving her wayward thoughts a stern talking-to, Tenten smiled at Lee. "I'm fine, Lee. Just a little tired. Why don't you take Neji on for a while?"

Shooting her a superior look that clearly said, _I know _exactly_ what you were thinking, _Neji turned and walked to the middle of the grounds, and waited for Lee to join him. "Well, if you're sure," Lee said, just barely containing his eagerness. It was rare that he got to spar against Neji without an argument.

Tenten made her way over to the fallen log where she'd put her bag earlier. Grabbing her water bottle she sat down, her eyes trained on the pair in the middle of the field. Watching Neji move had always been one of her favorite past-times. The way he flowed from one stance to another, the graceful sweep of his hands as he lashed out at his target, his eyes narrowed in concentration, his hair floating around him …. Tenten sighed, it was completely ridiculous – he'd turned her into a total … girl. Not that she hadn't been a girl before but she'd never been the kind of girl who sat around mooning over someone. _Oh, how things have changed, _she laughed wryly to herself.

They had still not really discussed what was happening between them – had instinctively kept it a secret. Slowly, but surely, he'd eased her into the feel of his lips on hers and his arms around her. In the beginning, she'd involuntarily flinched away, no matter how slowly and gently he approached her, she'd had to force herself to remember that it was Neji and that he would stop the second she asked him to. Tenten reflected on how heedlessly he'd pulled her securely against him a while ago. Yes, most of the fear had been banished. And yes, she did want him – the increasing desperation of their kisses spoke volumes about that. He hid it fairly well, but despite the deliberate limiting of their time spent kissing, despite the iron control over himself, she knew that he had to be getting just as worked up as she was and she hated the guilt that accompanied that thought, but she was utterly unable to stop kissing him.

Neji watched Tenten from the corner of his eye, his moment of inattention earning him a swift kick to the chest from Lee. He grunted and focused on his opponent again, but he couldn't stop the thoughts floating through his mind - fighting had become second nature to him, it freed his mind in much the same way meditation did - so he allowed the thoughts free rein.

Carefully, he considered the expression she'd been wearing, a mixture of frustration and guilty pleasure. He could sympathize, it was exactly the way he felt about their current situation. Though he couldn't imagine what on earth she had to feel guilty about. He was the culprit in this situation. Time and again in the last months he'd promised himself that he would not, _absolutely would not,_ touch her - it wasn't fair – and every time he'd come close to her his much vaunted self-control had been crushed beneath the lure of her mouth. Eventually he'd given up on the pointless promises and admitted to himself that he didn't seem to be _able _to stop kissing her and so he'd set about making it so that she didn't want him to stop, either. He'd never exercised so much self-control in his life, albeit in a very different way than he was used to.

Neji frowned to himself, the problem was that, somehow - despite his best efforts - the kisses had gradually gone from short and sweet, to long and heated. While part of him was gratified that Tenten no longer reared away in fear when he came close, the rest of him was vaguely panicked by the fact that she kept pressing her body tightly against him every time instead. Self-control was becoming a scarce commodity and, Neji had to admit that, shameful as it was, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep his baser instincts in check.

Another kick to the chest had him grunting again, and Lee stopped in front of him throwing his hands up in frustration, "What's the matter with you today, Neji? Your heart's not in this. Your mind is barely here!" Neji scowled at Lee, and moved into his fighting stance, "Come at me again."

Lee folded his arms across his chest and scowled right back, "No. There's no point in fighting with you if you're going to be distracted. The last half an hour has completely exhausted my youthful urge for competition. I think I'll head on home." With no further ado, Lee turned and stalked away. Neji briefly considered calling after him, but thought better of that idea when he realized that Lee leaving early meant more time with Tenten. _Damnit, is that all you can think about? _He asked himself in disgust. He'd had his share of rampant hormones, but never to this extent. It had never been a problem that a little meditation could not solve and if he was honest with himself, he didn't like how out of control he had been feeling the last while. For that matter, he didn't much like all these _feelings _either. _What _do_ you feel? _He asked himself, turning to stare at Tenten who was staring after Lee with a look of astonishment on her face.

Yes, fine, she was pretty. Beautiful even - and it didn't hurt that she had more curves than he ever would've guessed hidden beneath those baggy clothes. Her physical attraction was obvious and it did explain his sudden behavioral changes– but … he'd been attracted to women before, had even acted on that impulse once or twice, and he'd never been quite _this_ attracted. _What is it about her? _he asked himself in frustration. _You feel comfortable with her. You never have to pretend with her, you can just relax and enjoy yourself. _The little voice in the back of his head was another new addition he could've lived without. _Don't be ridiculous, why would I ever pretend to be anything I'm not, _he snarled at the voice. _Then maybe it's that when she's in your arms, you feel like you've finally come home, _the little voice said slyly, not in the least deterred by his anger. Neji started in shock - he didn't have an answer to that. _Great. Now you're even arguing with yourself – and losing._

Abruptly he came back to reality when Tenten's hand gently brushed his arm. "Where is Lee off to in such a hurry?" she asked, staring searchingly into his eyes. "You didn't argue with him, did you?" Still reeling from the idea that he would even _want _a home, Neji snapped at her, "No, of course not," and immediately felt a rush of remorse at the hurt that flashed through her eyes. In a gesture of contrition, he pulled her into his arms, stroking softly along her back, glad, as never before, that she was so adept at understanding his silent words. He felt her relax against him and knew that his unspoken apology had been acknowledged. _What the hell is happening to me?_

* * *

"Lets go out."

Tenten turned to look at Neji, "I'm sorry? What did you say?" Stifling a growl of irritation, Neji shifted from his sprawled position on her couch, so he could look at her. She'd jumped up from her place next to him when he'd spoken, as if he'd suddenly made an obscene suggestion. "You heard me. Lets go out."

"Out?" Tenten asked uncertainly, as if she'd never heard of the concept before. Neji sighed, "Yes, out. Like to dinner? You know, you go to a restaurant and you order food and-"

"Yes, yes, of course I know what it means to go out to dinner! I just … why on earth would _you _want to do that?" He decided that it was mildly insulting - the look of pure amazement she was giving him."I do go out, you know. I thought maybe we should go - if you wanted."

Tenten was still struggling with the idea that Neji, of all people, felt like going to dinner, but she didn't miss the slight awkwardness that accompanied his last words. "Are you asking me out on a date, Hyuuga Neji?" she asked, teasingly, sitting back down next to him. He was quiet for a short while, as if contemplating her question, and when he turned to face her again, his expression was serious, "I am. But I guess it came out wrong before. Please allow me to remedy that. Tenten, would you like to go to dinner with me?"

Tenten stared at him, "I would love to go to dinner with you, Neji," she said quietly, "but why do I get the feeling that this is about a lot more than just dinner?" He shifted slightly, and looking everywhere but at her, he said softly, "It just occurred to me that we've never gone anywhere." Sighing, he raised his eyes to hers, "I don't know what this is – this thing with us - but I don't want you to feel like it's this illicit secret."

Silently, Tenten reached out and took his hand in hers. "Neji, we don't have to figure everything out all at once. I don't know what this is either but, for now, that's okay."

Neji ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "I know that. It's just … I-" abruptly breaking off whatever he was going to say, he reached over and cupped her head, drawing her unresisting body closer. Leaning in, he murmured against her lips, "Lets just go get some damned dinner, all right?"

* * *

Tenten nervously turned around in front of the mirror. She'd agreed to go out to dinner, knowing that it probably wouldn't be to a fast-food restaurant. So she'd dug through her wardrobe, looking for something, _anything, _that would be appropriate attire for an evening out with Neji.

Finally, she'd located a red and black yukata, stashed behind everything else. She'd bought the thing on impulse and never worn it, but it was the only piece of clothing she owned that was even remotely acceptable. _What if he thinks I look ridiculous? _Shaking her head, she turned away from the mirror, nothing could be done about that now. There was no time to change – not that she had anything else to change into - Neji was due any minute now. Gloomily, she made her way to the living room. It was going to be obvious that she'd never been on a date before. She was fairly sure Neji hadn't either, but nothing ever fazed him while she was sure she was going to make a complete fool of herself. The quiet knock at her front door had her jumping in fright. _Calm down. It's just Neji and it's just a date._

Fighting the urge to go and hide under her bed, she opened the door and immediately forgot all about what she looked like or where they were going or even if she would know how to act. She'd been right to wear the yukata. Neji was also looking a lot more formal. In contrast to his usual clothes, everything was black - simple and elegant. It was the way the stark black emphasized his pale skin and brought out the flecks of color in his eyes and the hints of red in his hair that had her staring. _How is it possible that he could look even better than he usually does? _She thought dazedly.

Neji waited for Tenten to say something, but she just continued to stare at him as if she'd never seen him before. In irritation, he finally reached forward to push the door open himself, and she stepped back without argument, allowing him entrance. Once he'd closed the door behind him, Neji turned and found himself looking at a Tenten he'd never imagined he'd see. She was wearing some kind of reddish-black yukata that molded her figure - showing every curve to perfection. The material looked slippery and silky and already his hands itched to stroke their way down her body. Her hair was different, in one loose bun atop her head, making him want to untie it and let her hair run through his fingers. She'd even put on some make-up and she seemed all eyes, except for the shimmering red of her mouth. Gathering himself firmly, he put all thoughts of itching hands and shimmering mouths from his mind as he breathed, "You are inexpressibly beautiful."

Dinner passed in a blur for Tenten. She wasn't even really sure where they were, and she barely noticed the speculative looks they were receiving. She'd been under some kind of spell since Neji had arrived to pick her up. When she'd gotten over the shock of how good he looked in formal attire, he had been staring at her. She'd waited for him to say something, anything, but he'd been quiet for so long that she would even have been glad had he burst into laughter. Then he'd told her that she looked beautiful and the way he'd been looking at her had confirmed the words. Never in her life had she ever imagined anyone looking at her like that.

She was caught in his gaze. The fire was still there, burning low now, but ever-present. When he looked at her like that … she could almost forget everything and simply surrender herself to him. Almost. The slight twinges of unease could easily be ignored in a public setting, but nonetheless, they were there. As if he sensed her confused thoughts, Neji had ordered her some sake, though he was well-aware that she preferred drinks that were less potent. When the waiter had placed the drink in front of her, she'd raised her eyes to Neji's in surprise but he'd only said, "It will help you relax. Just drink it slowly and you'll be fine."

He'd been right. The sake had relaxed her – just enough to enjoy herself. If she was honest, it had also relaxed her enough to enjoy the look in Neji's eyes whenever she moved. He seemed almost mesmerized by the material sliding over her skin. Before she knew it they were walking slowly back to her apartment. At her door, she turned to him and said, "Thank you for dinner. I had a lovely time tonight."

It had been sheer hell. Neji couldn't remember the last time he'd had to fight so hard to keep his composure. Every time she moved the material of that damn yukata had moved too, revealing inches of smooth, silky skin, only to slip back into place again after a second or two. Even when he'd managed to keep his eyes away from her body, there was still her face to contend with. He'd thought that her mouth was at its most alluring in its natural state – he'd been wrong.

He'd tried to dispel the tension with alcohol, but, unfortunately, all he'd accomplished was to relax his control enough that it was impossible to focus on anything else. In retrospect, the sake hadn't been his best idea ever – all the months of pent-up lust were now crashing down on him all at once. The half of the evening not spent staring at Tenten had been spent hiding how much the sight of the material sliding over her skin was really affecting him. She was still talking, and he'd reached the end of his rope. He either had to kiss her or leave.

He kissed her. _Just one kiss, _he promised himself, _and then I'll leave. _

One minute Tenten was talking and the next his lips had captured hers and she completely forgot what she wanted to say. His mouth was warm, his tongue coiling around hers just so. _God, where did he learn to kiss like this? _she wondered hazily, the fleeting thought already forgotten when he nipped lightly at her bottom lip. His mouth never left hers as he slowly backed her up until she was leaning against the door, one of his hands on either side of her head. Her hands slowly drifted up between their bodies to fist in the material that covered his chest, pulling him tightly against her, and she shivered when he groaned into her mouth at the slight action.

The kiss went on and on, until she lost herself completely in the feel of his warm mouth and his hard body pressing her into the wooden door. Then he wrenched his mouth away and rested his head on her shoulder, panting softly into her neck. Tenten leaned her head back against the door, gasping for breath, fighting against the shudders running through her, when he bit down lightly on the curve of her neck before laving the spot with his tongue. She felt … heated and flushed, as if the burning looks he'd been giving her all night had somehow been transferred into his kiss and were now boiling through her veins. Slowly Neji pushed away from her. "Tenten, you should go inside now," his voice was hoarse and the sound teased at her suddenly hyper-aware nerve-endings.

"Do – do you want to come inside?" she asked, hesitantly. Neji smiled slightly as he said, "Thank you but no. I don't think that would be the best idea right now." He gave her a small push, his hands stroking over the silky fabric that covered her hips and she stepped back. Making sure that he stayed on the outside of the door, he leaned forward to press a light kiss against her lips. Her arms instinctively tried to wind around his neck as she stepped closer again but Neji quickly grabbed her wrists and forced her back. "No, Ten. Don't." The guilt rushed through him at her look of hurt and confusion, so he sighed and elaborated, "If I kiss you again I won't be able to stop." She shook her head, "So? That's not a bad thing." Neji closed his eyes and prayed for the words to come so he could make her understand without scaring her away. "No, I mean I won't be able to stop at just kissing you." She tried to step closer again, and without meeting his eyes she whispered, "I know."

"Tenten. Look at me." Neji's voice was stern as he tilted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "You don't mean that. I know you're not ready for this."

In a small voice she replied, "But I want you." _Oh god. _Neji drew another deep breath before answering, "Yes. But right now you want it for me. Because you've got some ridiculous idea in your head that I'm suffering and you feel guilty about that. I'm not doing anything I don't want to do and if I'm suffering then it's a good kind of suffering, all right?"

She gave a disbelieving little huff as she arched a skeptical eyebrow up at him and sighed, "I just -."

"No. Tenten, when you want it for _you_, it'll happen, but that's not tonight." Neji was surprised to see the tears forming in her eyes._ What did I do? That was understanding and comforting, wasn't it?_

"What if I never get to that point?" she whispered, staring at her feet.

Neji didn't stop to think, he didn't reason through the thoughts; he simply wanted to wipe the sadness from her eyes. "I'll wait. However long it takes and if you don't ever get to that point - well, then, this point is enough."

He kissed her lightly on the forehead and turned to quickly disappear into the night before the words had a chance to register in his mind - he could almost feel the epiphany looming behind the words.

* * *

_**AN: This chapter doesn't do much for advancing the overall plot - it's more about the characters and developing their relationship. It is a romance after all (and I really just wanted Neji and Tenten to be together for a little while with nothing to worry about other than their relationship), and I also felt that the story could use a break from all the drama, lol. At least, that was what I was trying to do! However, I promise that the plot will start advancing after this. I've always thought that Neji has a lot of emotion and passion swirling around under his stoic façade, so I decided to bring that out in him. Hopefully it hasn't destroyed his character too much. Also, I'm not so sure about Tenten in this chapter, not sure if it really fits in with the rest of the story but nonetheless, please review and let me know what you thought of it. If anyone has any suggestions – I always appreciate constructive criticism**__**!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the reviews/alerts/favorites! You guys rock! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story ^_^  
I was so motivated by your (wonderful!) feedback that I went and wrote another ridiculously long chapter. As promised, the plot is starting to advance now. However, there is still some character development. Initially, I was going to have the first part of this chapter happen at a later stage, but I thought that it fit better here in the end.  
I should warn everyone that I have now graduated from slight limes to non-graphic (I think) lemons, lol.  
Happy reading and please, please, pretty please, don't forget to R&R!**_

_**~Nokito**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing save my perverted imagination …**_

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_**Chapter 6**_

For a long time Tenten simply stood in the doorway, staring at the spot where Neji had disappeared into the darkness, his words ringing in her ears. _I'll wait, _he'd said, but she had seen the torment in his eyes. _I wish I could give you what you want, Neji. Scratch that, what we _both _want. If only I wasn't such a coward. _She slowly closed the door and made her way to the bedroom. Tenten came to halt in front of the mirror, and stared at her reflection. Her lips were still swollen from his kiss, her eyes bright with tears. She turned her head away in shame and her gaze fell on the old genin team photograph she kept on the dresser.

Tenten bit her lip as she stared at her twelve-year-old self who seemed to be brimming with confidence and hope for the future. _I had such dreams. I was going to be the strongest kunoichi since Tsunade-sama. _Sighing, she made her way to the window. _Where has that courage gone? That girl in the picture, she could rise above whatever life chose to throw at her, and yet here I am today, bursting into tears at the drop of a hat, unable to let go of the past. _

Her brow furrowed in concentration as she reflected on all that had happened in the last few months. To be honest, she didn't know how Neji could stand to be around her. He'd never been a particularly compassionate person – he didn't deal well with tears - and maybe that was the most astonishing thing of all – the fact that he'd been so unfailingly patient with her.

She'd always known that the only way to exorcise her demons was to confront them head-on. It was something she had avoided doing up till now. Painfully, she acknowledged that she had waited for Neji to do that for her, even if, deep down, she knew that she was the only one who could fight this particular battle. True, Neji had been her saving grace, so to speak, but what were all his efforts worth if, in the end, she was too much of a weakling to step through the door he had unlocked for her? Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage, and closed her eyes, allowing her memories take her back to that ill-fated afternoon.

* * *

It was with a sigh of relief that Neji gained the peace of his bedroom. He didn't know what to think anymore – didn't know what he was feeling. All he knew was that he hated it when she was unhappy. He wished desperately to return to the time when he had simply seen her as a teammate - a friend - when he hadn't felt this compulsion to fix everything for her.

His body still throbbed insistently and with a groan Neji made for the bathroom. He'd lost count of the number of cold showers he'd taken lately – he'd almost gotten used to it, in fact – and, if things continued like this, he was going to have to think of another way to still the demands of his body.

He gasped when the cold water hit his overheated skin but the shock cleared his mind. Methodically, he began to sift through the evening's events, and the emotions it had awakened in him. First, she had looked so incredibly beautiful that his breath had caught in his throat and he'd been unable to formulate any words to describe it. But that wasn't so unusual, even dressed in her normal clothes, sweaty and dusty from training, she only had to give him that sparkling smile to knock the breath out of him.

Nothing else had been out of the ordinary - from their conversation to the food and the kisses – all perfectly normal. The words that had been hovering on the edge of his consciousness since leaving her burst into his mind. _Would_ he be able to accept it if she never totally got over what had happened to her? Tenten certainly seemed to be under the impression that he only cared about physical gratification, but there was more to it than that. Absentmindedly, he turned the water to hot and braced himself against the wall, allowing his head to rest on his folded arms as the water poured over his body.

The emotional connection he felt when he kissed her was what spun the physical pleasure of the act into an unheard of dimension. He'd not paid much mind to the emotions before, but now he admitted to himself that the connection was made up of more than just a shared history, years of friendship and a sudden craving for her body. Despite what Tenten seemed to believe, there were other things that he enjoyed about being with her.

He liked making her laugh – watching her eyes dance with merriment filled him with a quiet satisfaction. He liked arguing with her - she challenged him – made him think. He liked watching her sleep, liked the way she instinctively reached for him if he moved even slightly away, as if her subconscious recognized that her place should always be beside him.

His head jerked up as understanding dawned – the realization almost seemed to travel through his body like an electric shock. It all made sense now - why he felt the way he did, why he had done the things he had.

_I love her._

* * *

After a sleepless night, Tenten rose with the dawn. Took a shower and had some breakfast. Then she waited. Surely, Neji would come. They could hardly leave things as they stood after last night. She sighed happily. This morning she had been able to look at herself in the mirror, and for the first time in over a year, she had not flinched away from what she saw.

Most of the night had been spent in reliving each and every moment that she had been in that clearing. It had been painful and emotional and messy, but it had been worth it. Finally, she could acknowledge that there really hadn't been anything she could have done. She could accept that what had happened wasn't a reflection on her personally; she'd simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When she lay, exhausted, with the tear tracks still on her cheeks, she had made a vow to herself. _No more. No more tears. I will not let the fact that I was raped control my life anymore. _She was well-aware that it wasn't quite that easy. Still, she felt a wonderful sense of freedom and light washing through her, as if she had finally broken away from the nightmare that held her shackled in darkness. She'd taken the first step – she'd_ chosen _to put it all behind her and in that moment she had regained control of her life. Regained _herself _and she felt stronger than ever before.

The past was a done deal, but the future … that was in her hands and she knew what she wanted her future to hold. _Neji._ In the back of her mind, she was aware that the fear and the pain had been replaced by an unholy rage but all that mattered at the moment was convincing Neji that they had a future together.

* * *

Dusk. The sun was setting rapidly now. Tenten sighed in frustration - she felt like screaming. All day she had waited but he never came. Abruptly making her decision, she stood and walked to the door. _If he won't come to me, then I will go to him. I don't care that he made it clear that he would not appreciate any visitors to the Hyuuga compound. That was years ago, anyway. I can pretend to have forgotten. _She wrenched the door open only to find herself staring into Neji's pearlescent eyes.

As if she had felt his presence, Tenten opened the door before he could knock, and Neji tried to ignore the swooping feeling in his chest as his eyes met hers. "Neji," she said in surprise, "I was just about to go looking for you."

He stepped around her when she gestured him inside, fighting the unfamiliar feeling of nervousness that had his stomach churning. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stay away for so long, but I had some things I needed to take care of."

She closed the door and moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. Neji's eyebrows nearly touched his hairline when she stood on tip-toe and leaned in to kiss him, she never initiated contact - she was far too inhibited. Her tongue slicked out to trace his lower lip and he forgot to be surprised as he lost himself in the pleasure of her mouth on his. Somehow, impossibly, the realization that he loved her had further heightened his senses where she was concerned.

His hands trailed up her arms to cup her face as he took control of the kiss, sliding his tongue around hers. She moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer. The banked embers abruptly burst into flame and Neji had to fight to keep his mind focused on the discussion he knew they needed to have. He pulled back and, taking her by the shoulders, he put her firmly away from him. "We need to talk."

Tenten had felt the tension in him the moment she'd put her arms around his body and now she couldn't stop her heart pounding in fear. _Am I too late? _Had she driven him too far? Was he going to call it quits now? She fought for composure before responding, "Oh? What did you want to talk about?" _You idiot, as if it isn't obvious_.

He fixed her with a piercing stare and said seriously, "I have to go away for a little while. Just routine matters, but there's something I wanted to say before I left." Tenten couldn't stop the disappointment from showing on her face. "You're leaving? When?"

"Tomorrow, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." For the first time she noticed the slight agitation in his voice, saw the way he avoided her gaze, but she remained silent as she waited for him to say what he wanted to say.

_God, this is hard._ Neji could feel her eyes boring holes into him as he turned away, unable to look at her.

"Yes?" Tenten asked, confusion coloring her tone. Suddenly, he was in front of her again, stroking her cheek with a warm, calloused palm. Neji leaned forward his breath brushing her lips, "I love you."

For a moment, Tenten was sure she must be dreaming. Did he just say that he loved her? She drew back a little, just enough to be able to look into his face. Emotions were warring in his eyes but the thing that confirmed his words to her was the vulnerability - the expectation of rejection from the little boy he had been, the boy who hadn't known a lot of caring, who had always been forced to take second place. Tenten reached out and cupped his face in her hands, kissed him softly, her heart breaking for that little boy, for the man he had become, for a life devoid of love and affection. _He has me now, _she thought fiercely, pressing a kiss to his mouth. "I love you, too."

His eyes, that had automatically been drifting shut at the touch of her mouth, flew open, "You do?" he asked in surprise. He stared at her uncertainly as she nodded. "Yes, I do. I have - for a long time, in fact."

He was still trying to assimilate her words when a mischievous grin tilted her lips. The kind of expression he hadn't seen her wear in far too long. She stepped closer, molding herself against him, and wound her arms around his neck. Standing on tip-toe to press a kiss against the column of his throat she whispered, "I can see that you don't really believe me. Allow me to prove it to you." And then she kissed him. Of her own accord. Again. And it was a kiss unlike any they'd shared before. Her mouth was urgent, and hot, and … _wait_. Neji wrenched himself away before he totally lost all control. Gasping, he managed to say, "Ten … what…" and then he momentarily lost the ability to form coherent thoughts as her tongue joined her lips in an exploration of his neck.

Sighing, she drew away, "I suppose I owe you an explanation, at least. You see, I spent last night thinking and I realized that I needed to lay the ghosts to rest. So that's what I've done. I know it's not really that simple but the hard part is over now and I'm not afraid anymore. I'm not going to let anything that happened in the past control my future."

Neji tried to make sense of what she was saying through the fog in his mind. He found that he didn't know what to say, "I'm proud of you" didn't really seem to fit the context and yet that was what he was feeling. Admiration for her courage and her perseverance flowed through him and he kissed her again, hoping that the kiss would convey the message that he seemed to be unable to articulate. She sighed against his mouth, a little huff of contentment that had him smirking inwardly in agreement.

The next thing he knew, she had backed him into the wall, was pressing herself against him, and his hands were roaming over her back in a blatantly possessive gesture. Her mouth slanted over his in kiss after burning kiss, as she buried her hands in his hair. Regretfully, Neji tried to extricate himself from her arms – he was fast approaching the point of no return. Better to call a halt to this now, pleasurable as it was. "Tenten, we should stop-"

He never managed to finish his sentence. Her tongue snaked out to taste the sensitive pulse point at the hollow of his throat. She traced a path of searing kisses along the curve of his neck and scraped her teeth lightly over his ear. _God, how is it possible that she knows _exactly_ what to do? _His defenses broke and the desire slammed into him with full force. A last-ditch effort had him groaning, "Tenten-"

She sighed again as she drew back to look at him. "Neji, didn't you hear what I was saying before? I'm not afraid anymore. I want this. I want _you_." She leaned closer again to nip at his mouth, "Please. I want you to make love to me." His breath hissed out between his teeth and in one swift movement he had lifted her into his arms and carried her into her room. Their mouths met and now there was no restraint, no holding back. In a tangle of limbs they fell on top of the bed, never breaking the kiss. Tenten moaned as Neji's hands stroked over her body, not pausing long enough in any one place to really satisfy her.

Squirming restlessly, she slid her hands under his shirt, raking her nails lightly down his back, shuddering in response to his low growl as she pulled him down on top of her. His mouth left hers to trail hot, openmouthed kisses down her neck to the valley between her breasts. Involuntarily her body arched toward him and her head tossed from side to side as she moaned. "Neji … please …" She was burning up and her body throbbed and demanded as the fire running through every inch of her converged low in her belly. Words were impossible, so she settled for panting desperately, sure that if he didn't do something, _anything, _soon she would explode. Or possibly cry.

Her clothes felt too tight – her _skin_ felt too tight – and, still, one furious kiss flowed straight into another, his hands encouraging the flames that were consuming her. Their clothes fell away, piece by piece, as if by magic. There was a stab of the old fear when Neji wrapped her legs around his hips, but, with one smooth thrust, he was inside of her, and then she was drowning in his eyes, in his touch, in the feel of his body moving within hers and the fear melted away, as if it had never existed in the first place.

* * *

Neji stroked his fingertips lazily down Tenten's arm, and she sighed as she buried her face in his neck, her breath tickling his skin. He stared at her sleeping form in utter amazement. To say that he hadn't expected this turn of events was an understatement, but he couldn't remember ever feeling so contented, so at peace. His free hand lifted to push his hair off his forehead and he suddenly became conscious of the fact that, at some point, she had removed the coverings and he'd never even given it a thought. Slowly he allowed the realization to settle into him. He hadn't noticed - for the first time in his life - that his curse seal was open to another's scrutiny. Maybe it hadn't bothered him because it hadn't bothered her - she'd never spared the mark a second glance.

A soft knock at the front door drew him from his thoughts and he automatically activated his Byakugan. _Lee? _Neji glanced down at Tenten but she was still dead to the world and when Lee knocked again, he gently extricated himself, trying not to wake her. He quickly covered his forehead, and pulled his clothes back on, not bothering to button his shirt properly – there was no point in hiding any longer. He didn't know if Lee had heard about their date the previous evening but decided that he didn't care. Lee would just have to deal with the fact that his presence in Tenten's life had taken on a whole new significance. He silently opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. "What is it, Lee?"

"Neji. Good. It's you I wanted to see," Lee's voice was soft, uncharacteristically so, and Neji arched an eyebrow at him, silently asking what Lee wanted with him at this time of night. Lee shifted uncomfortably, "I'm sorry to interru-" Lee took a deep breath, "_disturb _you but I just heard that you're going on a mission tomorrow. A private mission, Tsunade-sama said?"

Neji nodded slowly. Damnit, could nobody in this town keep any piece of information to themselves? Lee continued, "She also said that you specifically requested that you be allowed to go alone. She wouldn't tell me anything else."

"And you imagine that I can?" Neji asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the door. Lee met his gaze boldly, "I certainly hope so. I got the distinct impression that the mission was _personal_. And that can only mean that you've found the ninjas that attacked us last year."

Neji carefully kept his expression blank. Sometimes he forgot that beneath the ridiculous outfit and all the talk about youthfulness, Lee was actually very sharp. "Please, Neji. You shouldn't go alone – ANBU captain or not - you cannot defeat them all. Not alone. Even Gai-sensei didn't fare well against them, despite all his strength and experience."

Lee stared pleadingly at him and Neji sighed, "What do you want me to say, Lee?" He didn't want to outright lie – it was dishonorable and beneath him - but he wasn't sure how long he could avoid a direct question.

"Neji, I want to go with you. Have you forgotten that I also have a stake in this? I was also injured that day. That aside, do not imagine that you are the only one who cares about Tenten. We should avenge her together, if you are set on this course of action."

Neji tensed, "They touched her. Now they have to face the consequences. I have natural advantages that none of you had, so no matter how many of them there are, I will handle it. Now, go home, and get some sleep."

He turned to go back inside but Lee spoke again, "I know that it's different for you – more personal - but don't fall back on the habit of underestimating people, Neji. Remember the lesson Naruto taught you." Neji stiffened again at the words and without turning he replied, "I'm not underestimating anyone. But this is something that I have to do alone, all right?"

Without waiting for a response, Neji went back inside, closing the door on Lee – and found himself face to face with a furious Tenten.

_Goddamnit._

* * *

Tenten woke to the sound of soft voices, too soft for her to make out what they were saying. She turned sleepily, aware now of the cold spot where Neji should be. Her eyes flew open. _Wait. Where is he? _She focused on the voices again and this time she could make out the timbre of Neji's smooth tenor. Her curiosity peaked. Who on earth was Neji talking to at this time of night? And outside _her _apartment, no less.

She carefully wrapped the sheet around her naked body and made her way to the front door. _It's not eavesdropping if it's my own house, _she defended to herself. She reached the door and leaning her ear against the cool wood, she focused her senses, suppressed her chakra, and settled down to listen.

"…the ninjas that attacked us last year." Tenten jerked in shock, not only at the sound of Lee's voice but at what he was saying. _What is going on? _With growing disbelief she listened to their discussion. When the doorknob turned she quickly retreated further down the hallway. Neji entered the apartment and at the sight of his familiar form the disbelief turned to anger. The rage that had been building inside her since she'd relived her ordeal boiled to surface. Tenten took a deep breath as they stared at each other. "You found them? And you weren't going to tell me? Didn't you think that I, of all people, had the right to know?"

He returned her gaze unflinchingly, "This isn't something you need to concern yourself with." Tenten closed her eyes as she fought to control the anger that had her hands itching to wipe that cold, superior look off his face in the most painful way she could devise.

"I think you'll find that you're wrong, Neji," she finally managed, "this concerns no one more than me, which is why I will be leaving with you in the morning." He arched an eyebrow at her, and again, she had to fight the urge to slice him to ribbons.

"No," Neji said flatly, and started toward the bedroom as if the subject had been closed. As he brushed past her, the rage simply became too much, and she just reacted. In a second, she had him pinned to the wall, a kunai at his throat. He stared at her impassively.

"No? I think you mean _yes. _If anyone has a right to revenge, then it's me. I _will _be joining you tomorrow, whether you like it or not."

Neji slowly wrapped his hands around her wrists, and, bringing his superior strength to bear, he forced her hands away. "I don't want you going anywhere near them." Tenten yanked her hands out of his grasp and the kunai dropped to the floor with a clatter. "Well, that's just too bad, Neji. You're a bit late for that anyway - if you recall, they got quite close enough already."

He closed his eyes but not before she'd seen the flash of murderous rage. Taking a deep breath he whispered, "Don't. If you value my sanity, do not speak to me of that."

Abruptly the anger disappeared as the realization hit that he was feeling _guilty_. "Neji, it's not your fault any more than it was mine."

He kept his eyes closed as he replied, "If I had been there-"

"If, if, if! Neji, it's _not your fault_. It's no one's _fault_. But I need closure just as much as you do. I've accepted what happened, I've chosen to not let it influence me, and now I need to prove to myself that I am still strong. Can't you _understand_ that?"

There was a tense silence as they stared at each other. Tenten met his gaze evenly, she refused to back down, would not let him cow her into submission. At last, Neji sighed, and closed his eyes in defeat, "Fine. You can come, on the condition that you follow all of my orders to the letter." Tenten smiled, and reached out for him, but he took her by the shoulders and glared into her eyes. "Tenten, I mean it. Each and every single order - you follow it, or you get left behind."

She nodded and he relaxed his hold on her shoulders, pulling her roughly into his arms instead. Tenten sighed as the tension flowed from her body, and she pressed a light kiss to his chest as she whispered, "Thank you, Neji." He held onto her, almost desperately, for a long time before taking her hand and leading her back to bed.

* * *

_**A/N: So, what did you think? Boring? Predictable and, therefore, disappointing? Or, hopefully, interesting and entertaining? Either way, let me know, I always appreciate constructive criticism (how else do you learn?)**_


	7. Chapter 7

_****_

A/N: Thank you so much for your continued support! I really appreciate all the reviews/alerts/ favorites I've received (especially the reviews lol) – it's what keeps me writing. I apologize for the long delay in updating, real life caught up with me, but hopefully things will calm down from now on and I'll be able to update quickly again ^_^  
We're really getting to it now, so I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. As always, please, please, pleeaasse R&R.

_**~Nokito**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story**_

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

Neji woke with an immediate sense of wrongness suffusing his being. Still foggy with sleep, he could not immediately pinpoint _what_ was wrong as he lay watching the sun's rays creep across the floor. Slowly the sluggishness withdrew, and he became aware of the emptiness next to him, where Tenten should be.

_Tenten_. In a rush, memories of the previous evening assaulted him. _Damn Lee. _He swept his gaze across the room, but Tenten was nowhere to be seen. With the faint hope that she had decided against coming with him after all, Neji strained his other senses for any signs of her presence. The sound of running water from the shower drew his attention and, as he caught sight of her pack standing in readiness by the door, the last shreds of illogical hope he'd been nursing faded away. She hadn't changed her mind. He had spent half the night trying to think of ways to dissuade her but he was still drawing a blank. _How am I to keep this from turning into vengeance now? It was never meant to be more than swift justice. _The bathroom door opened, interrupting his thoughts.

"Are you finally up? I was beginning to think that you were going to sleep the day away. Or maybe you're planning on delaying us long enough that the trail is cold and then you'll sneak away on your own the next time you get wind of their whereabouts." Tenten frowned at him, as if he had just admitted to planning such a thing. Neji arched an eyebrow up at her, "Did anyone ever tell you that you have paranoia issues? And, anyway, whose fault is it that I was exhausted?"

Tenten blushed and he smirked in amusement. With her nose in the air she marched to her dresser and began brushing her wet hair. "Very funny," she said with as much dignity as she could manage, "but returning to the topic at hand, how long before we leave?" Privately, she was basking in the afterglow of a night spent with Neji. Silently, she thanked the gods for the courage that had enabled her to allow Neji's touch to erase the past. Neji wrapped the sheet around his hips as he got up and began gathering up his scattered clothes. He dressed swiftly as he replied, "As soon as I've had a shower, breakfast and collected my things, I'll meet you at the gate."

* * *

Neji slowly made his way to the main gate, reluctance dragging at his heels. He still had no idea of how to turn this whole debacle around. At this rate he would have to admit defeat and accept that Tenten would be accompanying him. Despite his slow pace, the gate came into view much too quickly for his liking. His steps quickened slightly when he caught sight of Tenten waiting impatiently for him. At last he could delay no more and when he drew level with Tenten she immediately fell into step beside him.

"Took you long enough," she sniffed, shooting a glare at his hair. Neji's eyes narrowed as he followed the direction of her gaze. "It takes time to dry," he said defensively, and immediately winced at how feminine he sounded. Tenten laughed but before she could continue teasing him, two shadows detached themselves from the deep recesses beside the massive gates. Neji swore when he recognized Lee and Gai. "What the hell are you two doing here?" Tenten laid a restraining hand on his arm, but he shook her off. This was just too much.

"We are joining you on your quest to avenge our youthful flower, of course," Gai boomed, seemingly oblivious to Neji's obvious annoyance. Lee nodded vigorously in agreement, ignoring the death glare Neji sent his way.

"There is no way that you are coming with us," Neji stated through gritted teeth, "it's bad enough that Tenten is coming."

"Well, Neji, it seems to me that it's up to Tenten who accompanies her or not. This is her mission more than anyone else's, after all," Lee spoke for the first time. Three pairs of eyes swiveled to Tenten who looked decidedly uncomfortable at being put on the spot. Neji shot her a 'don't-you-dare' look and she swallowed nervously. In recent months she'd grown so used to warmth blazing from his eyes that she'd forgotten how icily intimidating he could be. "I-I … well, I appreciate-" she started.

"That's settled then," Gai said cheerfully, "I've already arranged it with Tsunade-sama. This is now an official Team Gai mission." Tenten shot Neji an apologetic look as she shrugged helplessly – clearly Lee and Gai were determined to come along. Neji closed his eyes. _How the hell did this happen? I hate my life. _When he opened his eyes he was confronted with the sight of his three unwanted teammates' expectant faces. Neji gave a curt jerk of his head to the north, turned on his heel, and stalked off, not waiting to see whether they followed or not.

* * *

They travelled swiftly throughout the day. The forest flashed by in a green blur – one tree seemed much the same as another to Tenten – but Neji seemed to know where he was going. He had barely spoken to any of them all day. When they'd stopped for lunch, Neji had immediately headed for the bank of a small stream nearby. Tenten had gone after him and he'd given no indication that he was aware of her presence but, when she'd slipped her hand into his, he hadn't drawn away. She had opened her mouth but he'd forestalled her questions with a soft explanation, "I don't know if I can protect all of you."

Tenten had tried to keep her voice even despite the simmering resentment awakened by the assumption that they needed his protection. "Neji, have a little faith in us. So we lost to them once – it won't happen again. We may not all be geniuses but we're hardly helpless."

"I know that. I only meant … I never intended to attack head-on. Lee and Gai aren't good at stealth and silence – what if I'm only leading you into a death-trap? I don't want anyone to die here." She'd had no way of assuaging his worries, so she'd kissed him softly, hoping the gesture would convey her faith in him, and, for the first time, Tenten had become aware of the potential for awkwardness that was embodied in the presence of the other two. Lee had interrupted their moment to bring their lunch and none of them had known where to look.

Nightfall brought a whole new set of embarrassments. Neji resolutely settled himself by the fire and pulled her into his arms, shooting a challenging look at Gai. If she hadn't been so surprised and if the situation hadn't been so awkward, Tenten would've laughed at Neji's adolescent behavior and at Gai's small smile in response.

Later, Neji fit their sleeping bags together snugly, and Tenten drifted off to sleep in the warm circle of his arms with Gai and Lee's muffled laughter still ringing in her ears. Her last waking thought was that Neji's expression _had _been quite funny – his obvious reluctance to make any verbal confirmations regarding their relationship warring with the equally obvious mortification at the undignified display of public affection - but his closeness calmed her and his hands stroked soothing patterns on her back, and other thoughts faded into insignificance beside the feel of his hard body next to her. Tenten fell asleep, secure in the knowledge that she was where she belonged.

* * *

Neji woke the second Gai shook his shoulder lightly. He asked softly, "My turn?" Gai nodded and Neji slowly untangled himself from Tenten. She shifted and muttered and he smoothed a stray lock of hair away from her eyes before dropping a light kiss onto her forehead, not entirely oblivious to Gai's stare. He quickly headed to the edge of the clearing, calling softy over his shoulder to Gai. "I'll do a quick sweep. You can get some rest." He headed into the trees, not really surprised when Gai kept pace with him.

A safe distance from their camp Neji whirled around and, facing a startled Gai, he said grimly, "All right, just get it over with." Gai took a step back, holding his hands up in a sign of capitulation but Neji could see the thinly veiled amusement on the older man's face.

"I have no idea what you mean, Neji," Gai said airily, leaning casually back against a tree. Neji arched an eyebrow at him and, with a sigh of surrender, settled himself on the nearest flat rock. _It's going to be one of _those _talks. How is it possible that he can still make me feel like a child throwing a tantrum over nothing? _"Aren't you going to say "break her heart and I'll break your neck" or something similar? I believe it's traditional." Gai laughed loudly and Neji winced involuntarily.

"I believe it is," Gai chuckled, "and it would've been appropriate if you, or the relationship, were remotely traditional but I know you, Neji. Inherently – despite your hard work at convincing the population at large that you're really a heartless bastard – you're a nice guy."

"What gave you that impression," Neji muttered, unwilling to meet Gai's eyes. He was intensely uncomfortable, but vaguely he felt that this was the right thing to do. As much as he hated having to discuss his personal life with Gai, in some indefinable way, he owed it to Tenten to explain his intentions to the people that mattered in her life.

Gai sighed, "You're not the type to play with someone's emotions. Forgive me, but your own are buried much too deeply for that. Earlier tonight – you were throwing down the gauntlet. I'm not challenging your right to her affections. Far from it! But I care about you both, so you'll have to accept a certain amount of interest. She's always been closest to you and, even if I hadn't known you, I would've accepted Tenten's right to choose who she wants to be with for herself. I trust her judgment."

Neji leapt to his feet and started pacing in a small circle, frustration in every line of his body. "Then why are we talking about this?" Gai was quiet as he waited for Neji to calm down. At last, the sudden burst of energy burned itself out and Neji sank back down onto the rock and eyed Gai wearily.

"I'm not blind, Neji. In the immediate aftermath of the rape Tenten could barely stand to be in the same room with a man – except for you. She felt safe with you and that speaks volumes about the way you treat her. When you left she didn't even pretend to be trying to get over the past – she hid until Tsunade-sama forced her to work at the academy with Iruka. We figured she would find the children less threatening than adults and that helped somewhat, but it wasn't until you came back that she began to live again. That is what concerns me."

Neji shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand what you're getting at, Gai-sensei." Gai smiled, somewhat sadly, "Previously, I said that you won't break her heart, perhaps I should rephrase that statement – you won't do it deliberately. What concerns me is that Tenten feels a lot more than you do. If what you feel is born from pity, and she misconstrued that fact … well, Neji, I remember what it is like to be a young man and you can be forgiven for thinking that it won't matter if you take what is on offer now it's been sullied anyway-"

"Stop," Neji's voice was strangled as he slowly got to his feet. Deliberately, he closed the distance between himself and Gai, and the older man straightened up. Neji's voice radiated anger as he began to talk. "Because you matter to her, I will answer you this once. I don't pity her. In fact, I admire her courage. I'm not just looking for an easy lay, thinking that she fits that bill because she was raped. I'm not using her, in any way, shape or form. I intend to stay in her life for as long as she'll have me." Neji raised his hand, the chakra glowing from the center of his palm. "Because she cares for you, I will forgive you this once, but if you _ever_ speak about her like that again, I won't be so civilized." Neji released the chakra he'd been molding and deliberately turned his back to Gai and walked away.

Gai smiled slightly as he leaned back against the tree again. _Forgive me, Neji, but the only way to find out what you're truly feeling was to make you angry enough to let your guard down. _Gai laughed quietly to himself, he'd let Neji cool down a bit and then apologize for the "misunderstanding". _Who would've guessed that icy Neji could feel so passionately? I guess it really is true, the taller they are the harder they fall._ Still laughing softly, Gai made his way back to the camp for some much needed rest.

* * *

Tenten glanced warily at Neji. He'd been in a foul mood all morning. Just after breakfast, Gai-sensei had called him aside, supposedly for "tactical planning" but since neither she nor Lee had been included, it was fairly obvious that whatever they'd been discussing, it wasn't about tactics. They'd been gone for a long time and when they'd returned Neji had seemed marginally calmer – or at least the killing intent he'd been radiating whenever Gai-sensei came into his line of sight had been gone. Still, all personal squabbles had been put on hold when Neji had swept the surrounding area with his Byakugan. Much to everyone's surprise he'd located a fresh trail, indicating that they were less than half a day behind the ninjas they were tracking. Now they were waiting for Neji to return from scouting the ninjas' back trail.

"Can't he hurry it up?" Lee grumbled, "I want to finish this. It will be a true test of my youthfulness." Tenten rolled her eyes and bit her lip to keep the sarcastic comment hovering on the tip of her tongue to herself. Abruptly, Lee turned to look at her searchingly. "Are you afraid?" he asked seriously. Tenten considered his question thoughtfully, "No. I'm not. I know that nothing bad will happen this time. To any of us." She was surprised to find that she really meant it.

Lee looked at her for a moment before replying, "Because of Neji. You feel safe because he's here." Tenten laughed self-consciously, had she been that transparent? The way Lee had said it, the words were a statement of a fact. When it became apparent that Lee was waiting for an answer, she took a deep breath and said in a rush, "Partly. Not because he's more powerful than we are – I think we are all powerful in our own way, that's why we're such a good team – but also because I've just got this feeling, you know? " She shifted awkwardly under Lee's knowing stare.

Finally, Lee took pity on her and looking away he said, "I understand, but please don't think that you have to hide how you feel from me." Tenten sighed, and, as she settled back to wait for Neji, she allowed the peaceful moment to steal over her. It seemed that team Gai's interpersonal relations were at last righting themselves.

* * *

Neji landed lightly in front of them. "There are ten of them in a clearing about three hours from here, roughly to the north-east. They're armed and obviously dangerous but they're not expecting any company so security is lax." Gai nodded slowly and Lee leapt to his feet. "What are we waiting for?"

"Calmly, Lee. We do not want to repeat our previous blunder," Gai was still nodding slowly as if agreeing with something only he could hear. Turning to Neji, he said, "This is your command. We await your orders."

Neji looked taken aback for a moment before clearing his throat, "The plan is to hit them hard and fast. Take them by surprise and eliminate as many as possible before they have a chance to rally. Obviously, surprise is the key element, so stealth is of the utmost importance when approaching the clearing," Neji glared at Lee who looked offended but before he could argue Neji continued, "I don't want heroics from anyone," a glare was directed to Tenten, "so if I say fall back you fall back. We'll circle around, try to split them up. Ideally, we want to be fighting one opponent each, so try to take out as many of them in the initial assault as you can, hopefully we can halve their number but that's a best case scenario. That's it really." Shrugging, he looked at each of them in turn, silently asking if they had anything to add. Tenten and Lee both shook their heads with an admirable display of meekness but Gai opened his mouth and they all stared at him questioningly.

"Neji, if worst comes to worst -" Gai stopped for a moment and they shared a look that had Tenten and Lee glancing between them in bewilderment. Neji finally broke eye contact. "Yes," he seemed to pull himself together and met Gai's gaze firmly again, "I'm sorry, sensei, but if worst comes to worst, I'm taking Tenten and getting the hell out."

Gai nodded, "Yes, I understand. Lee and I will take care of ourselves." Lee nodded his agreement and Neji turned a hard gaze onto Tenten. She took a deep breath, wanting to argue, but something about the set of his jaw warned her that maybe she'd pushed him quite far enough already. Slowly she nodded and Neji's whole body seemed to relax.

"Everyone ready? Let's go." Neji indicated the direction and Gai and Lee took off without another word. Tenten readied herself to follow but Neji grabbed her hand, holding her back. Drawing her into his arms, he stared into her eyes, "I know you're not happy about it, but I'm not leaving your side. Promise me that if anything should happen to me, you won't try to fight alone. Please. I need you to be careful."

"I promise," Tenten whispered helplessly, drawn into the depth of feeling she saw in his gaze. Neji nodded slowly. With a quick, hard kiss he released her and headed after Lee and Gai. Tenten shook herself and followed him, jumping quickly from branch to branch, ensuring that some space remained between them. Right now she thought it best to show Neji that she had no intention of causing him any worry.

Much earlier than she'd expected Neji indicated that they should stop. Their pace slowed to a crawl as they crept closer to the place where the enemy waited unknowingly. Tenten could feel her heart racing as she stared ahead, looking for any sign of their adversaries' presence. When the clearing came into view she nearly gasped with repressed reaction as it finally hit home that she would facing her worst nightmares in a short time. She felt, more than saw, Neji glancing sharply at her, and she fought to keep her breathing even, fought the bile rising in her throat – kept her eyes trained on the man she trusted above all others as she waited for his signal to take the final steps in overcoming her fears.

Neji stared at the clearing, watched the bastards lounging around and, activated his Byakugan. He gathered all of his resolve and, with a forward sweeping motion, he indicated to the others to attack. In the next instant he had dropped to the ground in front of the startled ninjas. A snarl lifted his lips, and he watched in satisfaction as the two men's eyes widened in shock and alarm. _Now you die. _

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_**A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger ^_^ but the chapter was getting a bit long. Only a couple of chapters left to go! Are you as excited as I am *happy dance* Anyway, enough of my silliness – let me know what you thought!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Thank you for the reviews/alerts/favorites – they make my day! I meant to update sooner, but I'm glad to say that it only took me a week this time. I was going to divide this into two chapters but decided not to tease you any further ^_^ so this will be the conclusion of White Eye, Gentle Fist (I'm actually so sad!) A special thank you to everyone who read this fic – especially those who reviewed and placed it on their favorites/alerts list. I could not have finished this without your feedback/encouragement. To those who followed this story from the beginning – I can never begin to show my appreciation! A little warning: this chapter contains violence and (slight) gore. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated so don't forget to read and review – pretty please with sugar on top ^_^**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**_

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_**Chapter 8**_

A chilling smile lit Neji's features as his hands lashed out in quick succession. Before he'd entirely completed the motion that blocked the two unsuspecting men's chakra pathways, a pair of kunai flew past him - one on each side - driving into their throats with stunning accuracy. He stood for a moment, watching, as they bled through their last breaths and crumpled to the ground. When he was sure that they would not be stirring again, he moved forward to engage the next opponent.

Never in his life had he been so thankful for the Byakugan that allowed him to keep an eye on Tenten without drawing his attention from the battle at hand. She seemed to be taking her promise seriously, and had not attempted to stray from his side. He'd not been entirely sure that she would be able to fight- until her kunai had sliced past him he'd thought she'd frozen in fear.

The enemy had recovered swiftly from the surprise of the attack, and Neji could hear Lee and Gai's shouts on the other side of the clearing, as they fought side by side. A quick sweep showed him that they'd managed to incapacitate or kill another two. At the moment they were engaging an opponent each – and these seemed unbloodied so Neji left them to their fight.

_Only four left. _Neji glanced back quickly, making sure that Tenten was still at his side and unhurt and then turned his attention to the four remaining nin. Three of them were grouped around the other, who seemed to be issuing instructions. Neji's eyes narrowed as he took in the appearance of the apparent leader. The man certainly held himself with more assurance than his compatriots, indicating a different class of fighter, and Neji could feel the rush of adrenalin when the man's face lighted with a spark of challenge as his dark eyes met Neji's cold gaze. _That one is mine, _Neji thought grimly.

His attention was diverted when Tenten gasped next to him. He turned questioningly to her, only to find her gaze riveted to the man still staring challengingly at Neji. Involuntarily Neji reached out to her in concern as her cheeks lost the little color they'd gained in the rush of fighting. She trembled at his touch, her gaze never wavering from the man across the clearing. White-hot rage flowed through him when he saw the way the man smirked at Tenten - leered at her. Tenten shuddered, and for the first time, the reality of the situation hit Neji. These men, _that man_, had touched her, hurt her, been inside of her.

The four at the other side of the clearing sprang into action. The leader and another man whirled and disappeared into the trees while the two remaining nin started toward Neji and Tenten, weapons at the ready. _Like hell you're getting away, _Neji thought furiously and braced himself, an arm outstretched in front of Tenten - whether to stop her from attacking or to keep her away from them, he didn't know.

As soon as the advancing nin where in range Neji let some of his anger explode with a slight sense of relief as his chakra burst from empty palms. The men flew back, smashing into a tree. Not waiting to see if they were getting to their feet, Neji started off in the direction the other two had gone.

Tenten's eyes locked onto her enemy's and something stirred in her memories. A flash of … something passed before her eyes, but before she had a chance to fully examine what was in her mind, another two men were coming at her and Neji. To her eternal shame, she took a step back and when Neji's arm shot out in front of her in a protective gesture, she grabbed onto him like a lifeline.

Sharply curved weapons flashed in the sunlight, and for a moment she could almost feel the cold steel against her skin again. Their laughter reverberated in her head, threatening to pull her back to another afternoon, another clearing. Neji's arm jerked from her grasp, sharply bringing her back to reality. _He won't let anything happen to me,_ she thought with childlike trust shining in her eyes as she looked up at him, just in time to catch the flow of chakra from his palms lashing out at the approaching enemy with enough force to lift them into the air and slam them violently into a tree.

She winced at the sound of crunching bone and blood bursting from broken vessels. Tenten blinked as another flash of memory flowed in front of her eyes. When her eyes opened Neji was running across the clearing, going after the two that had disappeared into the trees - going after the man with eyes that were empty pools of blackness, dragging her down into their nightmarish depth.

"Neji!" she called after him but he paid her call no heed. Glancing frantically around her, she noticed most of the enemy on the ground, dead or dying. Lee and Gai were still fighting strongly and she whirled around to dart after Neji.

He ran through the trees, searching for his prey. Distantly Neji was aware that he was on the verge of completely losing control. The last time he'd felt even remotely like this was during his first try at the Chuunin exams, years ago. That was child's play compared to the feelings that were running through his veins now. He welcomed the savagery, _wanted_ to lose control. He'd waited more than a year to make these bastards pay and his patience was wearing too thin for him to care about honor during combat or any other aspect of his battle creed. No, when he caught up they were going to _hurt_, badly. And even the pain that he was going to cause them was not enough. Were it up to him they would burn in the fires of hell for all eternity.

Neji paused as he entered another clearing, this one smaller, darker than the one he'd just left. His quarry was leaning against a tree, a few feet in front of him, twirling a kunai casually from one hand to another.

"Where's your little girlfriend?" he asked, sneering at Neji. Fighting for enough control to at least enter this battle with a semblance of a plan, Neji slowly swept his surroundings with his Byakugan, looking for the other man. "I could ask you the same thing."

A burst of laughter and then the man straightened up. "You know, while I was waiting, I've had a thought – it must be terrible to be you. It must just kill you to know that I got there first." The cold eyes bored into Neji's, waiting for him to snap at the words, but thankfully Neji had gained enough control to not react to such a obvious trap. He smirked when Neji tensed but made no other move.

"Yes, it must eat at you every day. I can just imagine it – you working her slowly away from timid virginity only to have me come along and snatch the prize right from under you." A hard laugh. "But, since you've gone to all the trouble to seek me out, I'll give you what you want – I'll tell you all about it. It's better to live vicariously through others than never to experience it at all, right? You'll have to excuse me if I gloss over some of the details, though, not all of my men have my _finesse_ and I wouldn't want to bore you. I can see you have discerning taste."

Neji saw red, but before he could move forward to rip the son of a bitch's heart out, Tenten burst into the clearing.

Gasping for air Tenten leaned forward, hands on her knees, as she took in the scene in front of her. To the casual observer Neji looked as cool, calm and collected as always – but to someone who knew his moods, it was apparent that he was on the verge of murder. _What happened before I got here? _She wondered and turned her gaze onto the man that had instilled such fear in her before.

"Ah, and there she is. We were just getting to know each other. I thought I should make the effort since you and I are already so intimately acquainted." He smirked in Neji's direction, and grinned at Tenten. Involuntarily, without thought really, she moved closer to Neji. "Stay behind me, Tenten," he commanded without taking his eyes off their still grinning adversary.

"Well, now that all interested parties are present, shall I regale you with my tale?" his lips lifted in a snarl revealing yellowed teeth as he moved into fighting position. Neji glanced around again but there was still no sign of the other man. "There really is nothing to compare with breaking a virgin. Shall I tell you how she felt? Soft and warm - and the sounds she made-"

Tenten let out a small scream as Neji lunged forward, a blast of chakra flowing from his empty hands. His opponent whirled and reappeared on the other side of the clearing. Dizziness dragged at Tenten's senses and she closed her eyes reflexively only to have unwelcome memories burst into her mind's eye.

_The cold, dark eyes were burning into her, the cool steel of the kunai he was wielding tracing patterns over her newly bared skin. She shook with fear and helplessness as he forced her legs apart and before she had time to prepare herself she was plunged into a world of pain that threatened to split her in two. Through the tears that welled up in her eyes, she could see his face twisted in an expression of pleasure, she could feel his movements, the rough hands of the others pulling at her flesh with hungry urgency. Screaming silently she closed her eyes, allowed the tears to spill over her bruised cheeks, tried to ignore the harsh breathing, tried not to hear the words he grunted in her ears, tried not to _feel_. _Tenten wrenched her eyes open and willed the memories away, just in time to see the second man they'd been tracking moving into position behind Neji.

Suddenly everything made sense. They had been trying to gain an advantage by making Neji angry enough to disregard the Byakugan – they must've noticed that it seemed as if Neji had eyes in the back of his head, that he was impossible to surprise - not simply speaking out of perverted pleasure in causing pain. "Neji! Behind you!" she shouted, smoothly unfurling a scroll and sending a wave of kunai at the second assailant. Reacting instantly, Neji turned, flinging his arm out behind him to send a blast of chakra at both of the men simultaneously.

The leader whirled again, reappearing in front of Tenten who recoiled instinctively. Over his shoulder she could see the other nin engaging Neji – his taijutsu was good enough that Neji was having some trouble in landing that one hit that would end it all. Her attention was drawn back to the enemy in front of her as he took another step in her direction. "So, you came back for more?" he grinned lasciviously.

Her throat closed up with silent screams, her legs begged her to run. Trembling hands reached for her scroll and, still backing away, Tenten summoned another wave of weapons. He dodged them easily. "Aim not coming up to scratch?" he asked sardonically, raising an eyebrow at her. Panic beginning to cloud her thinking, Tenten reached for a different scroll, and in an instant she held a katana in front of her.

"Won't do you much good if you can't stop shaking," he laughed, and quick as a cobra strike, one hand had her wrist in a steel grip, twisting, and the katana dropped to the ground. His other hand had wormed its way beneath her panda buns and the eye-watering grip he had on her hair forced her knees to buckle, even as her neck arched backward. Falling to her knees with a gasp, Tenten stared up at him, tears of despair forming in the corners of her eyes. _Not again._

Neji twisted to avoid his opponent's fist and caught sight of Tenten on her knees – the man's hand twisted in her hair. "No." He didn't even realize he'd spoken out loud until the man behind him laughed and said, "Forget about her – this time he'll make sure she's dead. After he's had his fill, of course. _You_ should be worrying about me."

Fear, anger, hate, all the emotions swirling inside of him coalesced into one burning river of feeling and without thought Neji whirled into Kaiten, slamming his opponent backward into a tree. Moving so quickly that the man didn't even have time to slide all the way to the ground, Neji grabbed a pair of kunai lying forgotten on the ground – remnants of Tenten's attempt to assist him - and drove them through the man's body, pushing and twisting through the man's screams until he felt the blades stick in the bark of the tree. The movement ended in a smooth turn and then he was running.

From her vantage point on the ground, Tenten saw Neji killing his opponent and start in her direction. The grip on her hair intensified as her attacker took in the direction of her gaze. "You know, " he said conversationally, "that's what I detest about kunoichi. You're all strong until push comes to shove and then you're still relying on the male members of your teams to get you out of trouble. Just like any other defenseless, mewling, backwater wretch. But, I must say, you're weaker than most."

Neji was drawing closer and the words were echoing in her head. _Weak, weak, weaker than most. _Her hands fumbled into fists, Neji was nearly on them, and with a smooth movement Tenten unsheathed the hidden senbon from its pouch inside her sleeve. Lunging forward she drove the sharp, thin needle into the man's chest. Through his heart. "Not this time," she said grimly, standing and shoving him backwards as his grip on her hair slackened in shock.

He stumbled back, clutching at his chest, and Neji drew to a halt beside her. Her eyes were riveted on the dying man, and when Neji placed a hand on her shoulder she shook him off. Walking forward with deliberate steps, she swiped her katana from the ground, never breaking her stride. Lifting the weapon, she hit out with all her strength, absorbing the shock of the blade biting into the bone of the man's neck with her shoulders. His headless trunk fell to the ground in a rush of blood and Tenten lowered the katana with trembling arms. "Who's weak now?" she asked quietly.

Neji stood, shocked into silence. Never had he seen Tenten display so much malice, such hate. Usually she fought her battles the way shinobi were taught – without any emotion involved. She did what she had to do, with no embellishment – decapitating an already dying enemy was not her style. His eyes went back to her face, and he noted the tremors wracking her body as reaction set in. Her knees buckled and he moved quickly, catching her before she fell. Gasping breaths wracked her slender frame as Neji sank to his knees, holding her tightly against his chest. Rocking slowly, he stroked down her back, murmuring soothingly. "It's over now. It's all over."

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_**Epilogue**_

Tenten hummed happily as she made her way to the village's main gate. Today was their first official mission for Konoha as the newly reformed Team Gai. Shortly after they'd destroyed the band of outlaws who'd been the cause of so much pain, Neji had officially handed in his resignation to ANBU. He claimed that he was best employed in keeping an eye on the rest of them as they only got into trouble without him, but Tenten knew that it was more than that. The bonds that had been forged in childhood had strengthened throughout their ordeal so that even Neji couldn't deny that Team Gai was where he belonged anymore.

The gate came into view and Tenten giggled to herself as she caught sight of her teammates. Lee was red in the face and shaking his fist at Neji, who leaned casually against the wall, looking bored. Gai ignored them both, far too used to this kind of behavior to even notice, much less care.

Her eyes lingered on Neji's lean frame, his silky dark hair, and, as if he sensed her approach, Neji's head lifted. He smiled and the already bright day nearly blinded her, and for the umpteenth time Tenten marveled at the fact that he smiled that way for her. Only for her.

She hugged her arms as her pace picked up. _A new day, a new mission, and the person I love most beside me. What could be better? _Tenten joined the others and together they made their way through the village gates. Her hand automatically reached for Neji's and their fingers intertwined. Lee attempted to revive the previous argument and Tenten laughed out loud. She shared an amused glance with Neji and turned her face up to bask in the warmth of the sun as she said a silent farewell to the past and welcomed the first day of the rest of her life.

The End

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_**A/N: Was the ending too abrupt? Did everything work out the way you wanted it to? I hope everyone enjoyed the story and that it had a satisfactory ending (however, if it did not live up to your expectations, feel free to let me know – my request for constructive criticism still stands). If you're looking for more NejiTen – I've written another couple of fics for this pairing. Links are in my profile. Anyway, let me know what you thought!**_

_**~Nokito**_


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